Hauke Harms

Prof. Dr. Hauke Harms is Professor for Environmental Microbiology at the University of Leipzig and Head of the Department of Applied Microbial Ecology at the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig. Since 2004 he has continuously led UFZ departments, and since 2021 he is also Head of the Research Unit Sustainable Ecotechnologies.

Education & career:

• 1988 – Diploma in Biology, University of Hamburg
• 1988-1990 – PhD, University of Hamburg (bacterial degradation of dioxin)
• 1991-1993 – Long-term Fellow, EERO, Wageningen University
• 1993-1998 – Oberassistent & team leader, ETH Zürich / EAWAG
• 1998-2003 – Assistant Professor for Soil Microbiology, EPFL
• 2004-present – Professor for Environmental Microbiology, University of Leipzig
• 2004-2023 – Head, Dept. Environmental Microbiology, UFZ
• 2014-2020 – Spokesperson, Helmholtz Research Programme “Terrestrial Environment”
• 2017-2023 – Head, Research Unit Environmental Engineering & Biotechnology, UFZ
• 2019-2020 – Spokesperson, Board of Helmholtz Programme “Changing Earth”
• 2021-present – Member of the Board, Helmholtz Programme “Changing Earth”
• 2024-present – Head, Research Unit Sustainable Ecotechnologies, UFZ
• 2024-present – Head, Department of Applied Microbial Ecology, UFZ

Research interests:
Harms explores the ecology and ecophysiology of microbial communities that deliver ecosystem services such as pollutant and biomass conversion in soil, water and engineered systems. He links microbial diversity in structured habitats to the reliability of these processes, aiming to derive ecological principles for designing robust, largely self-sustained environmental biotechnologies that mimic natural ecosystems.

Grants & programmes:
He has coordinated or spearheaded large Helmholtz research programmes (“Terrestrial Environment”, “Changing Earth: Sustaining our Future”) and currently leads the units Sustainable Ecotechnologies and Applied Microbial Ecology, indicating substantial institutional and third-party funding.

Teams & infrastructure:
He heads the Department of Applied Microbial Ecology (≈ 20 working groups) and the Research Unit Sustainable Ecotechnologies, overseeing interdisciplinary teams, technical assistants and core facilities such as strain collections and microfluidic platforms.