Gerald A. Urban

Gerald A. Urban is a Full Professor of Sensors at the Department of Microsystems Engineering, University of Freiburg. He holds leadership roles as Director of the Freiburger Materials Research Centre and member of the Academic Senate. His research focuses on chemo- and biosensor systems for clinical and systems-biological applications, including nanobiosensors and electrochemical microsensor arrays.

Education: Studied Technical Physics at TU Vienna, completed PhD and habilitation there. Post-doctoral research at Münster and leadership roles at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute (1990-2002). Founded company OSC in 1985.

Research emphasizes sensor development for biocompatible applications, involving nanohybrid composites with carbon nanotubes and functional polymers. Collaborates on microfluidic systems for stem cell differentiation studies with external fellow Manz.

Awards include the Stefan Schuy Prize, AVL List Prize, and Hoechst Prize. Author of 70+ publications and 43 patents. Served as Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences (1999-2002).