Frauke Gräter

Prof. Frauke Gräter is the newly appointed Director at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P), effective July 2024. She holds a professorship in Molecular Biomechanics at Heidelberg University and previously led the Molecular Biomechanics group at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS). Her research focuses on mechanical forces in biochemical processes, combining AI/ML with experimental and computational methods. She earned her doctorate at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry and conducted postdoctoral work at Columbia University and the Max Planck Partner Institute in Shanghai.

Education: Studied chemistry at Universities of Tübingen, Kyoto, and Heidelberg; PhD at MPI Göttingen; postdoctoral training at Columbia University and Shanghai's MPG-CAS Partner Institute.

Research Interests: Molecular biomechanics, soft matter, AI-driven material design, and biomimetic systems. Specific projects include studies on blood coagulation, spider silk mechanics, and collagen structures. Her interdisciplinary methods integrate high-performance computing, molecular simulations, and AI to explore non-equilibrium material systems.

Awards:

• PRACE Ada Lovelace Award for HPC
• ERC Consolidator Grant (European Research Council)

Advising & Grants: Led the 'Protein Mechanics and Evolution' group in Shanghai and the HITS 'Molecular Biomechanics' team. Current focus includes collaborative projects at MPI-P to develop AI-predicted materials with bio-responsive properties.

Labs/Teams: Heads the newly established Department Graeter at MPI-P, fostering interdisciplinary research with the Institute's five existing departments. Active in international collaborations to advance computational biology and smart material systems.