Katharina Landfester

Katharina Landfester is an Honorary Professor at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and serves as Director and Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Mainz, Germany. She has held leadership roles including Dean of Studies for Chemistry at the University of Ulm and headed the Department for Organic Chemistry III (Macromolecular Chemistry and Organic Materials) there from 2003-2008.

• Education: Diploma in Chemistry from École d'Application des Hauts Polymères (Strasbourg, France), PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) from MPI-P (1995), Habilitation at the University of Potsdam (2002).

Her research focuses on polymer chemistry, colloid chemistry, and materials science, particularly in emulsion chemistry and macromolecular synthesis. She has contributed to the development of miniemulsion techniques for nanomaterials and organic materials.

Notable awards include the Reimund Stadler Award, Liebig Scholarship, and appointments to ACATECH. She has been recognized as a Bayer Lecturer and Bruno-Werdelmann Lecturer.

At MPI-P, she leads the Miniemulsions group and has extensive international experience, including research at Lehigh University (USA) and the École d'Application des Hauts Polymères in France. Her career spans prestigious fellowships and grants from DFG, DAAD, and the Chemical Industry Fund.