As an inherently international organization with the aim to establish networking activities between researchers, IFToMM is organized in groups not only in terms of technical domains – represented by the Technical Committees (TC) and Permanent Commissions (PC) – but also in terms of geographic representation. The latter is implemented in Member Organizations (MO), which represent the researchers of a certain country or region. Furthermore, during the IFToMM World Conferences organized every four years, the plenum discusses the future directions of IFToMM and elects the President according to democratic principles where each active MO has one vote.

As a country with a long tradition in technical research and engineering, Germany is a member of IFToMM since 19xx. Initiated by… such outstanding mechanism research pioneers as…

The IFToMM MO Germany defines itself by the initiatives and activities of its members. As such, all scientists and researchers who are active in the IFToMM technical disciplines are highly welcome to join. Explicitly, this holds for young researchers in early phases of the career: While IFTomm provides international networking opportunities such as the Cross Disciplinary Groups (CDG), MO Germany is also warmly welcoming post-docs and young professors who are willing to join experts from the same region and to shape common activities in order to promote mechanism and machine science in Germany. The IFToMM MO Germany organizes an annual meeting, organized each year by a different member.

The MO Germany has a long tradition in exchange and collaboration with its neighbors, namely the appreciated colleagues in the D-A-CH region, Austria and Switzerland. Therefore, a common annual conference called IFToMM D-A-CH Conference has been initiated in 2015. The conference is explicitly welcoming contributions on ongoing or intended research projects such as planned PhD theses. Still, it is an excellent opportunity to get an overview on the state of mechanism and machine research in Germany.

Furthermore, IFToMM MO Germany partners with DMG-Lib, an international initiative that aims at a digital archive of mechanisms, allowing to virtually discover and explore hundreds of mechanisms in a systematic manner. DMG-Lib is hosted by the German non-profit organization DMG-Lib e.V.

Currently, Germany is providing the President of IFToMM.