Scientific Career of Prof. Dr. Joachim Spatz

MPI for Medical Research, Dept. Cellular Biophysics &
University of Heidelberg, Dept. Biophysical Chemistry


Academic Education

1989 - 1994 Undergraduate & Masters degree studies in Physics at Ulm University & Colorado State University (Dipl. Phys. with distinction)
1994 - 1996 Ph.D. of Physics, Dept. of Macromolecular Chemistry, Ulm University, (Dr. rer. nat.; summa cum laude; with Prof. Dr. M. Möller)
2000 Habilitation in Physics, Ulm University


Professional Appointments

1997 - 1998 Postdoc, Institut Curie, Paris (with Profs. J. Prost & A. Ott)
1999 Scientific Assistant, Ulm University (with Prof. Dr. M. Möller)
2000 - 2004 C3-Professor for Biophysical Chemistry, Heidelberg University
2002 - 2010 Adjunct Senior Faculty Member, Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, USA
2004 - now Full Professor for Biophysical Chemistry, Heidelberg University
2004 - 2011 Director, MPI for for Metals Research, Stuttgart
2011 - 2015 Director, MPI for Intelligent Systems (formerly MPI for Metals Research), Stuttgart

2016 - now

2020 - now

Director, MPI for Medical Research, Heidelberg

Founding Director IMSE, Heidelberg University


Scientific Management Appointments

2007 - 2009 Chairman of the Joint Commission of the Stuttgart MPIs
2007 - 2011 Acting & Founding Director, MPI for Intelligent Systems
2011 - 2012 Deputy Managing Director, MPI for Intelligent Systems
2012 - 2013 Chairman of the Joint Commission of the Stuttgart MPIs
2013 - 2014 Managing Director, MPI for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart location
2014 - 2015 Deputy Chairman of the Joint Commission of the Stuttgart MPIs
2015 Deputy Managing Director, MPI for Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart location
2016 - 2020 Deputy Managing Director, MPI for Medical Research, Heidelberg

2018 - 2020

2017 - now

 Managing Director, MPI for Medical Research, Heidelberg

Speaker of the Max Planck School Matter to Life


Honors and Awards

1996 Scientific Award of the Association of the Metal Industry Baden-Württemberg
1996 Scientific Schloeßmann - Award of the Max Planck Society
1997 Scientific PhD Award of Ulm University for outstanding PhD work
1997 Research Stipend German Science Foundation
1998 Young Researcher Award Ulmer Universitätsgesellschaft
1999 Reimund Stadler Award-Habilitation Award Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCH)
2000 Gerhard Hess Research Award of the German Science Foundation
2002 Alfried Krupp Research Award for Young University Faculty Members
2003 Otto Klung Award for Physics 
2008 Weston Visiting Professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
2009 Member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
2012 ERC Advanced Grant, jointly with Prof. B. Geiger, Weizmann Institute 
2016 Member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences

2017

2020

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft 

Member of the Leopoldina


Fields of interest

Cellular Biophysics, Materials Science, Cell Biology, Interface Science, Physics of Soft Matter

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