Prof. Andreas Tünnermann is the director of the Institute of Applied Physics, and the Fraunhofer Inistute of Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF). He is a member of the board of directors of the Abbe Center of Photonics. Andreas Tünnermann has been distinguished with many prizes and awards, e.g. with an European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant for boosting novel concepts of fiber lasers in 2015. Since 2019, he is the spokesperson of the national Max Planck School of Photonics.

The groups lead Andreas Tünnermann conduct application-oriented research in the field of optical systems engineering on behalf of publicly and industry-funded collaborative projects. The objective is to develop innovative optical systems to control light, from its generation to its application, in the cutting-edge fields of energy, environment, information, communication, healthcare, medical technology, safety, and mobility. To achieve these goals, the entire process chain, from the system design to the manufacture of prototype optical, opto-mechanical, and opto-electronic systems, is charted.