Peter Richard Wich

Peter Richard Wich is a Senior Lecturer at UNSW Chemical Engineering and leads the Research Lab for Functional Biopolymers. He is affiliated with the Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD) and the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine (ACN). His career spans institutions in Germany, the USA, and Australia.

• PhD: University of Würzburg, Germany (2009)
• Postdoc: University of California, Berkeley (2010-2012)
• Assistant Professor: University of Mainz, Germany (2012-2018)

Research Interests focus on macromolecular chemistry at the intersection of nanotechnology and bioorganic chemistry. His lab specializes in biopolymer modification to create biocompatible materials for drug delivery, nanomedicine, and biocatalysis. Recent projects include enzyme bioinks for 3D printing and siRNA conjugates for brain cancer.

Scientific Awards:

• 2026: ARC Future Fellowship
• 2023: Associate Editor, RSC Applied Polymers
• 2022: David Sangster Polymer Science and Technology Achievement Award
• 2020: Polymer Chemistry Emerging Investigator
• 2019: IUPAC Periodic Table of Younger Chemists

Advising & Funding: Graduated 9 PhD students as primary supervisor and attracted over AUD $5.36 million in grants, including ARC Discovery Grants and BrightFocus Foundation projects.

Labs & Teams: The Wichlab collaborates globally and promotes interdisciplinary science through initiatives like Experimentalchemie.de, an educational platform for chemical experiments.