Professor

Prof. Dr. Markus Biesalski

Contact

work +49 6151 16-23720

Work L2|04 E305
Peter-Grünberg-Straße 8
64287 Darmstadt

Research Interests

  • Advanced materials from renewable resources, such as cellulose and lignin
  • Functional paper design and new applications for paper as construction materials
  • Fluid dynamics and transport in paper-based materials
  • Fundamentals on polymers at interfaces

Professional Career

Stages Periods and Details
since 2008
Full Professor (W3)
Laboratory of Macromolecular Chemistry & Paper Chemistry, Department of Chemistry,
Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany
2002-2008
Assistant Professor (C1)
Institute for Microsystems Engineering, IMTEK, University of Freiburg, Germany
2002-2008
Emmy-Noether Research Fellow
(Young Investigator Group)
Emmy Noether Fellow of the DFG and Head of Emmy Noether Research Group, Institute for Microsystems Engineering, IMTEK, University of Freiburg, Germany
2000-2002
Postdoctoral Researcher
Materials Research Laboratory, MRL, University of California at Santa Barbara, UCSB, USA
Mentor: Prof. Dr. Matt Tirrell
1999
Doctorate
“Oberflächenimmobilisierte Polyelektrolyte – Synthese und Quellungsverhalten”,
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research Mainz, Germany
Mentor: Prof. Dr. J. Rühe
1990-1996
Diploma
Chemistry, Joh. Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany

Engagement in the Scientific System

since 2024 Member of the Scientific Committee of the Fundamental Research Society of Pulp & Paper, Cambridge, UK
since 2023 Member of the Xchange advisory board to the president of the TU Darmstadt, Germany.
since 2021 Chairman of the scientific advisory Board of the Model Factory Paper gGmbH, Düren, Germany
since 2019 Director of the Ernst-Berl-Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, TU Darmstadt, Germany
since 2018 Coordinator and spokesperson of the DFG PAK962, TU Darmstadt, Germany
since 2017 Chairman of the Main Committee, and member of the Board of the Zellcheming Association, Darmstadt, Germany
since 2016 Elected referee of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), Section 5 Applied Chemistry, Germany
since 2016 Member and PI of the CRC1194 Wetting and Transport, TU Darmstadt, Germany
since 2009 Member of the editorial board of Soft Matter (Taylor & Francis) and Polymers (MDPI), TU Darmstadt, Germany
since 2004 Fellow of the Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg gGmbH, Germany within the Elite-Postdoc Programme
since 2002 Emmy-Noether-Fellow of the DFG, Germany
2019 – 2020 Spokesperson of the TU Darmstadt Profile-Area From Materials to Product Innovation, TU Darmstadt, Germany
2016 – 2020 Member of the steering committee of the Merck-Lab at TU Darmstadt, Germany
2011-2015 Coordinator and spokesperson of the LOEWE research focus Soft Control, TU Darmstadt, Germany

Supervision of Researchers in Early Career Phases

“Training young scientists is one of my most important tasks. During my academic career, I have trained and mentored more than 70 PhD students and postdocs to date. The latter now work in the chemical industry, as well as in the paper industry. From our group, 2 postdocs (Dr. Kai Zhang, now Professor at the University of Göttingen, Germany and Dr. Wei Li, now professor at the University of Guanxi, China) have been appointed to professorships. Finally, I support and host the group of Dr. Andreas Geißler as an independent young research group leader in a Joint supporting activity together with the Papiertechnische Stiftung PTS.” (as of 09-2024)

Scientific Results / Publications

Since 1999, our work has appeared in more than 180 publications and more than 20 patents and patent applications. Detailed lists of scientific publications can be found at:

Academic Distinctions

2023 Golden badge of honor, Association Zellcheming eV, Wiesbaden, Germany
2018 Best paper award, TAPPI Paper Physics Section, IPPC Lodz, Poland
2016 Highest Founders Award, Darmstadt,
Germany
2016 Best paper award, TAPPI Paper Physics Section, IPPC Darmstadt, Germany
2004 Awarded fellowship of the Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg gGmbH, Germany within the Elite-Postdoc Programme
2002 Awarded by the DFG a Emmy Noether scholarship to build and lead a Emmy Noether research group at the University of Freiburg, Germany
2000 Awarded by the DFG with a fellowship for a research stay at UCSB, USA
1999 Ph.D. with distinction (summa cum laude) at University of Mainz, Germany