Researcher portrait & interviews

More than 2,000 scientists work at Forschungszentrum Jülich. In more than 80 different institutes, they search for new findings in their respective fields, often taking unconventional paths. Year after year, they publish their findings in thousands of scientific articles, initiate new research projects or register their discoveries as patents. Get to know some of them here.

Silvia Daun

She already achieved her biggest professional goal four years ago: a research professorship. Today, Silvia Daun heads the Computational Neurology research group at Jülich and teaches Computational Neuroscience at the University of Cologne.

Kristel Michielsen

Kristel Michielsen fought for access to computer science while still at school. She has continued this path consistently. At Forschungszentrum Jülich, she simulates the functioning of quantum computers - with success: In the past ten years, she has set several world records.

Peter Wasserscheid

Peter Wasserscheid is working on technical solutions that are urgently needed for the success of the energy turnaround. This has earned him a number of research awards and led to the establishment of a company. He has remained true to his home country.

Katrin Amunts

Micrometre by Micrometre: Decoding the Human Brain with AI - an interview with Prof. Katrin Amunts about the challenges and significance of the German-Canadian Helmholtz International BigBrain Analytics and Learning Laboratory (HIBALL) for the international research community.

Detlef Stolten

As part of the transformation of the German energy and transport sectors, the use of electric motors with batteries and fuel cells, as well as electricity- and biomass-based fuels in internal combustion engines, is currently the subject of much debate. Prof. Detlef Stolten about the facts surrounding the debate.

Ulrich Schurr

Fossil resources were the fuel that brought the major industrialized nations progress and prosperity. However, the ecological consequences of utilizing these resources are becoming increasingly ominous. An interview with plant researcher Prof. Ulrich Schurr on the role that the bioeconomy could play in structural change

Eva Pfannerstill

Heat, drought, and pests cause stress in plants. The composition of their “breath” is changing – which also has an impact on air quality and climate. Eva Pfannerstill is investigating these changes with a new measuring method.

John Paul Strachan

In California, physicist John Paul Strachan investigated how structures of the human brain can be transferred to computers. Now he has moved to Forschungszentrum Jülich to delve even deeper into his major topic.

Rami Barends

When Rami Barends was still working at Google, he was involved in many milestones on the way to a quantum computer. Now he has moved to Forschungszentrum Jülich and wants to help make these new computers usable.

Christoph Brabec

Roll-up displays and photovoltaic films for façades – organic electronics have a great deal of potential. However, recycling concepts should be in place before the new technology becomes a mass product, recommends materials researcher Christoph Brabec.

Vincent Mourik

Father of three, quantum physicist, ornithologist and committed open science advocate: there are many sides to Vincent Mourik’s life

Gabriela Figueroa Miranda

As a young entrepreneur, she wants to implement her research: Gabriela Figueroa Miranda develops rapid diagnostic tests for malaria.

Regina Palkovits

Prof. Regina Palkovits heads the subinstitute Catalytic Materials at the Institute for a Sustainable Hydrogen Economy (INW-2) and is also Chair of Heterogeneous Catalysis and Technical Chemistry at the RWTH Aachen University.

Francesca Santoro

An international team led by Jülich researcher Francesca Santoro has developed an intelligent biochip that imitates the retina of the eye. With such bioelectronics and others like it, the team hopes to correct malfunctions in the body and brain.

Frank Wilhelm-Mauch

Jülich physicist Frank Wilhelm-Mauch is coordinating the construction of the first European quantum computer. In doing so, he is able to draw on a skill he acquired on jazz club stages as a student: the talent for improvization.

Sarah Genon

Prof. Dr. Sarah Genon heads her own group at Forschungszentrum Jülich’s Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine – Brain and Behaviour. Her goal is to investigate changes in the complex organization of the human brain.

“What are you researching?” In this section of our magazine “effzett”, scientists provide insights into the topics on which they are working.

More short profiles of our researchers