Peter Gruss
Profile
Dr. Peter Gruss is an internationally renowned researcher in gene regulation and embryonic development, who served as the President of the Max Planck Society in Germany from 2002-2014. Previously, Dr. Gruss was Director of the Department of Molecular Cell Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen for 16 years.
Dr. Gruss has received multiple awards for his contributions to science, including the German Future Prize, the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit, the Harnack Medal, and the highest scientific honor in Germany, the Leibniz Prize. He is a member of various national and international scientific organizations including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Göttingen Academy of Sciences, the European Molecular Biology Organization, and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. He is an honorary member of the Japan Academy and the National Academy of Sciences Republic of Korea, and a foreign member of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
From 2015-2019, Dr. Gruss developed the "Siemens Technology & Innovation Council" (STIC), which was an advisory board discussing technologies and innovations that will play a significant role for Siemens over the next ten years and beyond with the supervisory board. He also was a supervisory board member of Siemens, Munich Re and on the board of directors of Actelion.
Press Release "Dr. Peter Gruss Appointed Next President of OIST Graduate University"
Experience
2023-2024
Special Advisor for Innovation, Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology
2017-2022
CEO,OIST School Corporation & President, OIST Graduate University
2002-2014
President of the Max PlanckSociety
1997-1998
Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute
for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen
since 1990
Honorary Professor, Universityof Göttingen
1986-2014
Director (Department of Molecular Cell Biology), Max Planck
Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen
1983-1986
Member of the Directorate of the Center for Molecular
Biology, University of Heidelberg (ZMBH)
1982-1986
Associate Professor of Microbiology, University of Heidelberg
1978-1982
Laboratory of Molecular Virology, National Cancer Institute,
NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
1981-1982
Visiting Scientist, NIH
1980-1981
Expert Consultant, NIH
1978-1980
Postdoctoral Fellow, NIH
1977-1978
Postdoctoral Assistant at the Institute of Virus Research,
German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg
Awards
2017
Harnack Medal of the Max Planck Society
2012
Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art
2012
Ellis Island Medal of Honor
2009
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany - Cross of Merit, First class
2007
National Award for International Science and Technology of the People’s Republic
of China
2004
State Prize of Lower Saxony
2003
Virchow-Lecture and Award, Würzburg
2003
George Khoury Lecture, Bethesda
2002
Berthold Medal and Lecture of the German Society of Endocrinology, Göttingen
1999
German Future Prize 1999 –The German President’s Prize for Technology and Innovation
1999
Stifterverband Science Prize 1999 (by the Donors’ association for the Promotion of Humanities and Science)
1995
The Louis-Jeantet-Prize for Medicine, Geneve
1995
Carus Medal of the Leopoldina and Carus Award of the City of Schweinfurt
1994
Jenkinson Memorial Lecture, Oxford
1994
Leibniz Prize awarded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)
1992
Medal of the Collége de France, Paris
1992
Jean Brachet Memorial Lecture - Award of the International Society of Differentiation
1992
Butenandt-Lecture of the Society of Biological Chemistry
1992
NIH-Scholar-in-Residence Award
1992
Feldberg Lecture Award
1983
Robert Koch Career Development Award of Clausthal-Zellerfeld
1983
Lectureship stipend granted by the Fonds der Chemie
1981
Heisenberg stipend awarded
1978
Postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)
Service
Member of the Max Planck Society (emeritus)
Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Member of the Academia Europaea (European Academy of Sciences)
Member of the New York Academy of Sciences
Member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Munich
Member of the Academy of Sciences, Göttingen
Foreign Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw
Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
Member of the Human Genome Organization (HUGO)
Member of the German Society of Developmental Biology
Vice President of the European Developmental Biology Organization (EDBO)
Member of the Board of Directors of the International Society of Differentiation
Honorary Member of the World Innovation Foundation (WIF)
Honorary Board Member of the World Knowledge Dialogue
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the King’s College (Guy’s Hospital), London
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Madrid
2023-
President Emeritus, Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology
2023-
Member of Riken Advisory Council
2022-
Honorary member of the Japan Academy
2017-
Member of the Scientific and Academic Advisory Committee and Member of the International Board of the Weizmann Institute of Science
2017
Member of the STS Forum Board and Council
2015-
Member of the Board of Trustees of acatech
2015-2019
Chairman of the Siemens’ Technology and Innovation Council
2015-2017
Director of The Francis Crick Institute Limited
until 2014
Member of the Senate of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
until 2014
Member of the Trustee Committee of the German Future Prize
2013-
Honorary member of The National Academy of Sciences Republic of Korea
2013-2016
Member of the Academic Advisory Council of the Private Excellence Initiative Johanna Quandt
(Stiftung Charité)
2009-2016
Member of the Advisory Council of Deloitte & Touche GmbH
2007-2011
Member of the Board of Trustees of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich
2006-2014
Member of the "Innovation Dialogue" of the Federal Chancellery by Angela Merkel
2005-2009
Member of the Board of Trustees of the Technical University of Darmstadt
2004-2010
Member of the Biomedical Research Advisory Council of A*Star, Singapore
2002-2014
Member of the Alliance of Scientific Organizations in Germany
2002-2014
Member of the Senate of the German Research Foundation, Bonn
2002-2014
Member of the Senate of acatech, the Council for Technical Sciences of the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities
2002-2014
Member of the Senate of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Munich
2002-2014
Chairman of the Trustee Committee of the Körber European Science Award
2000-2002
President of the EMBL Council, Delegate (1992-2000)
2000
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Wellcome/CRC Institute, Cambridge
1998-2002
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board
of the Max-Planck-Institute for Psychiatry, Munich
1988-1992
Member of the EMBO Fund Committee
1997-2000
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology,
Berlin
1995-
Member of the German Academy of Natural Scientists "Leopoldina"
1995–1999
German Representative of the Council of Scientists of the Human Frontier Science Program
1995–1998
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Developmental Biology Research Group
at Randall Institute, London
1994-1998
Member of the Board of Trustees of the German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg
1994-1997
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board
of the Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry, Munich
1994-1996
Vice President of the Society for Developmental Biology, Germany
1993-1997
President of the International Society of Developmental Biology
1992-1997
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board
of the Max-Planck Institute for Immunology, Freiburg
1992-1996
Member of the German Research Foundation Senate Committee
for Animal Experimental Research
1992-1994
Panel Member of the European Union "Human Capital and Mobility" Program
1990-1994
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation
1990-1992
Panel Member of the Human Frontier Science Program(1990-1992)
German Representative of the Council of Scientists of the Human Frontier Science Program
Peter Gruss
President Emeritus, OIST
Former President, Max Planck Society
Nationality:
Germany
Credentials
1977
Doctorate, University of Heidelberg
1974-1977
Doctoral thesis SV40 DNA in the lytic cycle,
Institute of Virus Research, German Cancer Research Center,
Heidelberg
1973-1974
Diploma thesis Chemical composition ofpeptidoglycan-(lipo)
protein complexes in the cell wall of proteus mirabilis and their
unstable L forms, Institute of Microbiology, Darmstadt
1968-1974
Study of biology, Technical University Darmstadt
1968
University entrance qualification(Abitur)