Heino Finkelmann (born 1945
) is a German
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
who works with liquid-crystalline
elastomers.
Biography
After earning an engineering degree, Finkelmann graduated 1972 as chemist (Diplom) from
Technische Universität Berlin.
In 1975, he earned his PhD at the
Paderborn University under the supervision of
Horst Stegemeyer in
Physical Chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...
.
After three years of Postdoc under the guidance of
Helmut Ringsdorf at the
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Finkelmann habilitated from 1978 to 1984 at the
Clausthal University of Technology with the group of
Günther Rehage in Physical Chemistry.
From 1984 to 2010, Finkelmann was appointed Full Professor and Director of the Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry at the
Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg.
One of his famous works is the concept of the side chain nematic elastomers.
Honours, decorations, awards and distinctions
* 1984:
Carl Duisberg Memorial Prize from the
Society of German Chemists
* 2000:
Gay-Lussac Humboldt Prize
* 2003:
Agilent Technologies Europhysics Prize of the
European Physical Society
* 2004: Doctor Honoris Causa by the
University of Toulouse
* 2006:
George William Gray Medal of the
British Liquid Crystal Society
References
1945 births
Living people
20th-century German chemists
German organic chemists
German polymer scientists and engineers
Academic staff of the University of Freiburg
Scientists from Lower Saxony
People from Hildesheim (district)
21st-century German chemists
Technische Universität Berlin alumni
Academic staff of the Clausthal University of Technology
{{Germany-chemist-stub