Peter Fratzl elected to Chinese Chemical Society
Prestigious commendation
Max Planck Director Prof. Dr. Peter Fratzl has been appointed honorary life member by the Chinese Chemical Society (CCS). The CCS describes this nomination as "the highest honor bestowed on the world's most distinguished chemists and materials scientists". Peter Fratzl is thus one of a total of 70 honorary members, 24 of whom are from Europe.
Peter Fratzl has headed the Biomaterials Department at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPIKG) since 2003. He is honored for his interdisciplinary research at the interface of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering and medicine. He complements this with close collaborations with experts from the humanities and design. The CCS congratulatory letter says Fratzl's research on materials for bone tissue regeneration has great international influence and is highly praised by peers around the world. It also said he has established long-term exchanges as well as collaborations with Chinese scientists by visiting Chinese universities and research institutes for lectures and discussions and training many young talents from China at the Potsdam institute. "Especially this collaboration with young talents from China is a great pleasure and a great benefit for all sides," says Peter Fratzl. After Markus Antonietti, he is already the second director of the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces to receive this commendation.
Trained at École Polytechnique Paris and the University of Vienna, Fratzl is an engineer and physicist who studies the relationships between the (hierarchical) structure and physical properties of biological and bioinspired materials. This research on natural materials such as wood, insect shells, mussel shells, protein fibers and bones provides insights into how nature synthesizes materials, how they heal or adapt to changing requirements. This has implications for regenerative medicine, but new concepts for sustainable engineering materials are also emerging. He is author and co-author of more than 600 scientific publications in journals and books. He is the recipient of the Max Planck Research Award (2008), the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Research Award (2010), and an honorary doctorate from the University of Montpellier, France. He is also a member of the following academies: Austrian Academy of Sciences, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature, German Academy of Engineering Sciences (acatech), and United States National Academy of Engineering.
About the Chinese Chemical Society
The society was founded in 1932 and currently has 75,000 members, 70 of whom are honorary members. CCS Honorary Fellows have been appointed since 2009 and are limited to a total of 100 individuals.
