Roadmap collaborative research on structured magnetic elastomers and their material behavior–bridging from fundamental and materials science to educational science

Abstract Magnetic elastomers, like magnetic fluids, consist of magnetizable particles in a carrier medium. In contrast to magnetic fluids, the carrier matrix is a soft elastic solid. Consequently, the particles are permanently held in place. Such positional fixation allows to use the structure of the spatial particle arrangement as a central degree of freedom to enhance the properties of the materials. Specifically, structural optimization can improve overall magnetostrictive and magnetorheological properties. Key questions concern the identification of optimized structures, their consequences on the overall material properties, and ways of transferring them into reality. Furthermore, to close the gap between pure fundamental and materials science on the one hand and education on the other hand, the contents are introduced into educational science and research. They provide a solid basis for context- and authenticity-based learning as well as related scientific investigations. We overview multiple challenges on this path, potential ways of solution, and we estimate further developments in the field. Clearly, this kind of challenge can only be addressed in an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach.