Sylvia E. Gebhardt is Senior Research Scientist at the Department Smart Materials and Systems of the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS in Dresden, Germany. She studied Material Science at the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany and at Leeds University, UK. She received the Diploma degree in 1996 and was awarded a Ph.D. degree in 2000 for her thesis on development and characterization of fine-scaled 1‑3 piezocomposites for ultrasonic transducers. Her research interests are focused on the materials synthesis of ferroelectric, piezoelectric, and electrocaloric compositions as well as on the development of ceramic components based on thick films, multilayers, microstructures, fibers, and composites for capacitors, sensors, actuators, and ultrasonic transducers.