Sibylle Günter (born 20 April 1964) is a German

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experi ...

researching tokamak plasmas. Since February 2011, she has headed the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics. In October 2015, she was elected a member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

in recognition of her contribution to research.

Biography

Born in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

, Günter matriculated from high school in 1982. She went on to study physics at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock () is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Se ...

where she graduated in 1987 and earned a doctorate in 1990 with a dissertation on radiation from dense plasmas. Her thesis advisor was Gerd Röpke. After working as a research associate at the university's Department of Theoretical Physics, she completed her

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

in 1996. Her work in Rostock was complemented by periods in the United States at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

and at the

National Institute of Standards and Technology The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into Outline of p ...

. In 1996, she joined the Tokamak Physics division of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in

Garching Garching bei München (, ''Garching near Munich'') or Garching is a city in Bavaria, near Munich. It is the home of several research institutes and university departments, located at Campus Garching. History Spatial urban planning Garching was ...

near

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. In 2000, she was appointed director of the institute and head of Tokamak Physics coordinating research on the principles of a fusion plant designed to produce energy resulting from the fusion of light ions. In 2011, she became IPP's scientific director. In October 2015, in view of her outstanding contribution to research, the

's board elected Günter a member of the Academy.

Selected publications

* * * * *

Awards

Günter has received the following awards: *2013:

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

*2015: Member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering *2015: Member of the

*2020: Member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunter, Sibylle 1964 births 21st-century German physicists 21st-century German women scientists German women physicists Living people Members of Academia Europaea People from Rostock Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Max Planck Institute directors University of Rostock alumni Plasma physicists German theoretical physicists