Peter Fratzl (born 13 September 1958 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) is an Austrian physicist and director at the

Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces The Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (German: ''Max-Planck-Institut für Kolloid- und Grenzflächenforschung'') is located in Potsdam-Golm Science Park in Golm, Potsdam, Germany. It was founded in 1990 as a successor of the Institu ...

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Life

After studying in Strasbourg and Paris, and graduating as an engineer from the

École polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern Franc ...

in 1980, Fratzl received his doctorate in physics from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich h ...

(1983). After that, he received his habilitation in the field of solid-state physics (1991) and worked as an assistant and associate professor at the Institute of Materials Physics at the University of Vienna (1986–1998). In addition to his role as director of the

(since 2003), Fratzl is also an external collaborator at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Osteology in Vienna (since 1993). He was a visiting researcher at

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted uni ...

in Edinburgh (1993–1994), visiting professor at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: link=no, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of ...

(1997), full professor of metal physics at the University of Leoben, and director of the Erich Schmid Institute for Materials Science of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (1998–2003). He is also Honorary Professor at

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (german: link=no, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established ...

(since 2004) and at the

University of Potsdam The University of Potsdam is a public university in Potsdam, capital of the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is mainly situated across three campuses in the city. Some faculty buildings are part of the New Palace of Sanssouci which is known ...

(since 2009). From 2017 to 2020, Peter Fratzl was Chairman of the Chemical-Physical-Technical Section of the Max Planck Society. Since 2019, he has been co-director of the Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity. Peter Fratzl has headed the Department of Biomaterials at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces since 2003 and is one of the pioneers in the field of biological and biomimetic materials. His studies of natural materials such as wood, bones, mussel shells, glass sponges, protein fibers, and insect shells have provided materials scientists with clues for the development of new material concepts. In addition, his work has also influenced medically-oriented work on osteoporosis and bone regeneration. Due to his award-winning interdisciplinary research, Peter Fratzl is one of the most exposed representatives of modern science (listed as a materials scientist by Thomson Reuters in "highly-cited researchers"). Fratzl is the author and co-author of about 500 publications in journals and books.

Other Activities

* Corresponding member abroad of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (since 2007) * Member and PI of the Cluster of Excellence "Image-Knowledge-Design" at Humboldt-Universität of Berlin * Speaker of the Priority Program of the

German Research Foundation The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...

(DFG) "Biomimetic Materials Research: Functionality by Hierarchical Structuring of Materials". * Member of the editorial board of the journals

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

and

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...

. * Member of scientific advisory boards and supervisory boards of research institutions, e.g.: Review Board Materials Science, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and the Maier-Leibnitz Centre.

Awards

* 2008: Max Planck Research Award for pioneering achievements in the field of biological and biomimetic materials – together with

Robert S. Langer Robert Samuel Langer Jr. FREng (born August 29, 1948) is an American chemical engineer, scientist, entrepreneur, inventor and one of the twelve Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was formerly the Germeshaus ...

* 2010: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the

* 2010: Honorary doctorate from the University of Montpellier * 2012: Fellow of the American

Materials Research Society The Materials Research Society (MRS) is a non-profit, professional organization for materials researchers, scientists and engineers. Established in 1973, MRS is a member-driven organization of approximately 14,000 materials researchers from academi ...

* 2013: Member of the National Academy of Science and Engineering (Acatech) * 2015: Member of the Academy of Sciences and Literature of Mainz * 2015: Member of the

Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften), abbreviated BBAW, is the official academic society for the natural sciences and humanities for the German states of Berlin ...

* 2020: Member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fratzl, Peter 1958 births Living people Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering 20th-century Austrian physicists 21st-century Austrian physicists Scientists from Vienna Academic staff of the University of Vienna University of Vienna alumni Max Planck Institute directors