Prof. Dr.-Ing. Paul Motzki is the Scientific Director and CEO of the state-funded Saarland Engineering Institute – SEI (former ZeMA - Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology) in Saarbruecken, Germany, which employs about 120 researchers in the fields of robotics, production technologies and smart materials. Within SEI, his own research activities run within CiMS – Center for intelligent Material Systems. He received his B.Sc., M.Sc. and PhD degrees in Mechatronics and Systems Engineering from Saarland University, Germany. In 2022, he was appointed the professorship “Smart Material Systems for innovative Production” by the Department of Systems Engineering of Saarland University; additionally, he joined the Department of Material Science and Engineering in 2025. Since 2023, Paul Motzki is the Chair of the VDI/VDE Technical Committee GMA 2.16: “Smart Materials and Systems”, Board Member of europe’s largest smart materials network smart3, Director on the board of the ASM International Organization on Shape Memory and Superelastic Technologies (SMST), Senate Member of the ASME SMASIS division, Vice President of the EuroEAP Society, and Vice President and Co-Founder of the International Elastocalorics Society – IES. His research interests cover the design and development of multifunctional actuator-sensor-systems or artificial muscles based on smart materials like shape memory alloys and electroactive polymers. Special focus is on the emerging field of elastocalorics.