Professor Lutz Mädler in the area of process engineering of the Faculty of Production Engineering at the University of Bremen has been awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Preis 2017. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) [German Research Foundation] bestowed the prize on Mädler for his outstanding research work in the field of Mechanical Process Engineering. Germany‘s most renowned science prize comes with prize money in an amount of 2.5 million euros. Besides Mädler, nine other researchers were honored. “This high distinction for Lutz Mädler and the University of Bremen makes me very happy“, commented University President, Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter, on hearing the news. He went on to say, “Following the granting in May this year of the Collaborative Research Center ‘Colored States’, which is led by Lutz Mädler, the DFG award of the Leibniz Prize to Professor Mädler is yet another attest of our University’s excellence in the area of Materials Sciences. This DFG decision is an encouraging sign for the pending competition in the excellence strategy.” Professor Mädler was naturally overjoyed: “For me personally, the Leibniz Prize represents a truly great honor and recognition of my work. I want to thank the University of Bremen and all my colleagues for their wonderful support and cooperation over the past years. This additional funding will enable me to explore many new lines of research.” The University of Bremen now counts no less than six Leibniz Prize holders among its researchers.

About Lutz Mädler’s research themes

In 2008, Professor Lutz Mädler was appointed director of the Department of Process Engineering belonging to the non-university institute “Foundation Institute of Materials Science”, which is located with its three main departments on the University campus. At the same time, he was appointed Professor for Mechanical Process Engineering in the University’s Faculty of Production Engineering. Professor Mädler’s research concentrates on materials synthesis by means of aerosol and spray forming. He developed a new technique for the synthesis of innovative and complex nano-particle materials used in varnishes, textiles, dental fillings, gas sensors, and as catalysts. Mädlers basic research on defining the process of flame spray pyrolysis is highly regarded worldwide. The further development of this research with the discovery of droplet explosion phenomena in flame sprays is seen as a milestone in aerosol technology. In the recently granted Collaborative Research Center “Colored States”, the research team led by Lutz Mädler is focusing on evolutionary materials development and exploring new territory in respect of alloy and process combinations.

Lutz Mädler is among leading international pioneers of basic research on the interaction of synthetic particles with biological tissue. His second research concentration revolves around nanomaterial interfaces in biology, an area in which has been working for several years with the American Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEIN for short). The CEIN collaborative research group is world leader in research on nanomaterial interfaces in biology. The University‘s area of Mechanical Process Engineering and the process engineering department belonging to Foundation Institute of Materials Science (IWT) led by Professor Lutz Mädler supply CEIN with highly specific nanomaterials which serve the American researchers as a sort of research library. The pursued objective is to find out more about material and “nano” properties as well as their environmental impact.

Numerous internationally renowned journals have reported extensively on Lutz Mädler‘s diverse research activities. For instance, “Nature Materials”, a top peer-reviewed journal in the interdisciplinary area of materials science, cites Mädler’s research findings 937 times. Professor Mädler is also regularly featured in publications of the eminent American Chemical Society.

Lutz Mädler’s bio

Professor Lutz Mädler has been Professor for Process Engineering in the Faculty of Production Engineering at the University of Bremen since 2008. He also leads the Department of Process Engineering belonging to the non-university “Foundation Institute for Materials Science”. Prior to this, he worked for several years at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), the Eidgenössische Technischen Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, and the Fraunhofer Institut (ITEM) in Hanover.

About the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize

The Leibniz Prize was created in 1986. Each year since then, the German Research Foundation awards the Leibniz Prize to researchers of all disciplines for their outstanding achievement. As a rule, the prize money they receive over a seven-year period amounts to 2.5 million euros.  The prize winners are free to use the money for their research as they see fit and without red tape. The prize is awarded up to ten times a year. So far, the prize has been bestowed on 364 researchers. It is generally perceived to be one of the world’s most important science prizes. Seven Leibnitz Prize winners have later been awarded a Nobel Prize.

Leibniz Prize winners at the University of Bremen

Prior to Professor Lutz Mädler, the following members of the University of Bremen have also been awarded the Leibnitz Prize: Professor Ekkard Brinksmeier (Manufacturing Technology, 1999), Professor Frank Vollertsen (Manufacturinbg Technology, 2002), Professor Antje Boetius (Microbial Ecology, 2009), Professor Kai-Uwe Hinrichs (Organic Geochemistry, 2011), and Professor Nicole Dubilier (Marine Ecology, 2014).

If you would like to have more information on this topic, feel free to contact:

University of Bremen
Faculty of Productio Engineering – Mechanical Engineering & Process Engineering
Prof.Dr.-Ing. Lutz Mädler
Phone: +49 421 218-51200
email: lmaedlerprotect me ?!iwt.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de