Since October 2021, Dr. Dirk Günnewig has been State Secretary in the MKW (Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia). During his inaugural visit to the Paderborn University, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Mirko Schaper and Prof. Dr. Thomas Tr?ster presented research topics from the key research area "Sustainable Materials, Processes and Products". Please read the article.