Sebastian Kruss

Sebastian Kruss is Professor of Physical Chemistry at Ruhr University Bochum, leading the Functional Nanomaterials group. He holds a PhD from Heidelberg University (2011) and completed postdoctoral research at MIT (2012-2014). Since 2020, he directs research focusing on biosensors, nanomaterials, and biophotonics.

His research develops optical methods and nanomaterials for biosensing applications, including pathogen detection, neurotransmitter imaging, and plant health monitoring. Key innovations include fluorescent nanosensors for dopamine detection, quantum defect engineering in carbon nanotubes, and hyperspectral imaging techniques.

Publications demonstrate consistent focus on nanomaterial-based sensors, with recent work advancing ratiometric imaging, fluorescence lifetime techniques, and 3D printing of nanomaterial models.

Awards include the Heisenberg grant (2020), Fraunhofer Attract grant (2020), Ewald-Wicke prize (2017), Georg-Manecke prize (2016), and Liebig fellowship.

Leads a research team of 15+ members including postdocs and PhD students. Current projects involve quantum defects in nanomaterials, hyperspectral imaging, and neurotransmitter monitoring systems.