"Is the Future Black?" by Prof. Klaus Müllen

Abstract:

The title does not concern the various crises in the world. The question is rather what fundamental materials research has to offer in pushing technologies and in meeting future societal needs. A key issue is energy efficiency which, in general, must seek solutions for the saving, storage and transformation of energy. This requires the right materials, in particular, of carbon materials. Their applications are nearly omnipresent, from thermal insulation and mechanical reinforcement to mobility. The synthetic expertise of the chemist is in high demand, and with the right carbon materials in hand – black or not – the future is bright.

Biography:

Klaus Müllen joined the Max Planck Society in 1989 as one of the directors of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research. His PhD degree was granted by the University of Basel in 1972. He received his habilitation in 1977 at ETH, Zürich. In 1979 he became a Professor at the University of Cologne, and in 1983 at the Johannes-Gutenberg-University, Mainz. He owns about 60 patents, published over 1700 papers and has a h-index of 125.