Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c. Peter Fratzl

Research activities – Biological Materials Science Peter Fratzl studies the relation between (hierarchical) structure and physical properties of biological and bio-inspired composite materials. He also conducts fundamental and clinically oriented research on osteoporosis and on bone regeneration. His research interests include biomaterials systems for mechanosensing and actuation, as well as interdisciplinary research together with cultural science and design. The scientific approaches combine experimental characterization with theoretical modeling, and use techniques and methodologies mostly borrowed from physics and chemistry to address questions relevant to biology, medicine, materials science, engineering and humanities.

University education

1991                     Habilitation in Solid State Physics, University of Vienna, Austria
1983                     PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in Physics, University of Vienna, Austria
1980                     Ingénieur Diplômé at École Polytechnique, Paris, France

Professional experience

Since 2022
Co-director of the Max Planck Queensland Centre for the Materials Science of Extracellular Matrices (together with D. W. Hutmacher, Queensland University of Technology)

Since 2018          
Spokesperson (with W. Schäffner, C. Mareis and H. Bredekamp) of the Cluster of Excellence “Matters of Activity”, HU Berlin

2016–2018
Spokesperson (with W. Schäffner and H. Bredekamp), of the Cluster of Excellence  “Image Knowledge Gestaltung” (EXC 1027), HU Berlin

2015–2021
Vice-Chair and Chair (2017-2020) of the Chemistry-Physics-Technology Section of the Max Planck Society

2010–2016
Spokesperson of the DFG Priority Programme SPP1420: “Biomimetic Materials Research: Functionality by Hierarchical Structuring of Materials”

2010–2014
Acting Director, MPI of Microstructure Physics, Halle (Saale)

Since 2009
Honorary Professor of Biomaterials Physics , University of Potsdam

Since 2007
PI and Member of the Steering Board, Berlin-Brandenburg School of Regenerative Therapies (BSRT)

Since 2004
Honorary Professor of Physics, HU Berlin

Since 2003
Director, MPI of Colloids and Interfaces, Department of Biomaterials, Potsdam

1998–2003
Chair of Metal Physics, Montanuniversität Leoben, Austria & Director of the Erich Schmid Institute of Materials Science, Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)

1997
Visiting Professor, Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)

1993-1994
Visiting Research Fellow at the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK

Since 1993
Scientific Advisor to the Director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Osteology, Vienna, Austria

1985-1998
Assistant and Associate Professor, Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Vienna, Austria

1981-1985
Researcher at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna and at "Laboratoire Leon Brillouin" in Saclay, France; Visiting Research Fellow at Hahn-Meitner-Institut in Berlin and at New York University

Other experience

Currently
Member of Scientific Boards: Institute of Science and Technology Austria; Hermann von Helmholtz Center for Cultural Techniques (HZK), HU Berlin; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Cambridge/ MA, USA; Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research Dresden; B CUBE – Center for Molecular Bioengineering Dresden; MIT Visiting Committee in Civil and Environmental Engineering, USA.

Currently
Member of Editorial Advisory Boards of several scientific journals

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