German physicist and physical chemist. Ph.D, University Gt̲tingen (1974). Professional experience includes: IBM San Jose (1974-1975); Dornier-Systems (1975-1981); habilitation, University Ulm (1975-1978); professor for physics, TU Munich (1981-1987); professor for physical chemistry, University of Mainz (1987-1993); founding director and scientific member, emeritus group leader, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in the Science Park Potsdam-Golm (1993-2018); honorary professor at University Potsdam (1995-), Zheijang University in Hangzhou (2001-), Fudan University in Shanghai (2004-), Institute of Chemistry at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2006-), and Institute of Process Engineering at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2014-); head, German Colloid Society (2003-2007); president, European Colloid and Interface Society ECIS (2002-2003).