New junior professor in macromolecular chemistry

After completing his chemistry studies in Heidelberg (B.Sc.), where he graduated as the top student in his class, Alex Plajer pursued a research master's degree (M. Phil.) at Cambridge (United Kingdom). There, he also obtained his doctorate in the field of inorganic synthesis chemistry, supported by a Cambridge Trust Vice-Chancellor Scholarship. As an 1851 Fellow of the Royal Commission, he conducted further research in polymerization catalysis at Oxford (United Kingdom). Prior to his appointment at the University of Bayreuth, he led a research group at the Free University of Berlin, funded by a Liebig Scholarship from the Chemical Industry Fund.

"The University of Bayreuth is nationally renowned for its macromolecular chemistry," says Plajer. "Moreover, the facilities are impressive: there is nothing that is not available here, and I feel that all research ideas can be realized. That's why the decision to move to Bayreuth was not a difficult one for me."

In the coming years, he aims to further establish his research field in Bayreuth and expand his research on sustainable structural polymers, including functional polymers, with his current three doctoral students. "I plan to intensify research on degradable polymers," he says. This includes shaping sustainable polymers in various ways to make them more useful for yet-unexplored applications.