The central goal of the Priority Programme is the thermodynamically consistent modelling and simulation of the mutual interaction between the internal phase-structure and mechanics in applied materials, assisted by experimental characterisation. The full power of predictive materials modelling will evolve on a general theoretical basis, combining methods of computational thermodynamics and thermo-mechanics, developed for metals, with methods for history-dependent or field-induced phase-structures and their thermo-mechanical behaviour, developed for polymers. It will enable scientists to describe structure and property of materials dependent on the process history and external chemo-mechanical load or external fields in a comprehensive way within a unified framework. The development and the validation of new comprehensive models and methods can also be based on qualitative and quantitative insights from atomistic simulations and experimental investigations.