The Adolphe Merkle Institute’s Chair of Polymer Chemistry and Materials, Prof. Christoph Weder, has been honored with the prestigious Otto Warburg Lecture at the University of Bayreuth in Germany.

The award, presented annually by the Otto Warburg Chemistry Foundation, recognizes outstanding scientists.  Weder was chosen for his pioneering contributions to bio-inspired and adaptive polymer materials. His research combines approaches from chemistry and materials science to create novel macromolecular systems that respond to external stimuli and dynamically adapt to their environment. This research opens the door to applications in sustainable materials, soft robotics, smart coatings, and adaptive energy systems.

With almost 400 scientific publications, numerous patents, and the supervision of over 140 early-career researchers, he is considered a leading figure in the field of functional polymer materials. Weder has been the recipient of an ERC Advanced Grant and the American Chemical Society’s Anselme Payen Award. He is also a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (Division of Polymer Chemistry) and a member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences. From 2010 to 2022, he served as AMI’s Director and is currently its deputy director. Prior to joining the Institute, he held positions at Case Western Reserve University in the United States and ETH Zurich.

The Otto Warburg Chemistry Foundation supports research and teaching in chemistry at the University of Bayreuth and promotes the visibility of chemistry in the public sphere. In addition to awarding the Otto Warburg distinction, the foundation supports habilitations, dissertations, and other research projects and fosters international collaborations through symposia, partnerships, and academic exchange.

Original text (German): University of Bayreuth