Anke Weidenkaff

Anke Weidenkaff
Born (1966-12-27) 27 December 1966
Occupations
Academic background
Alma mater
Academic work
DisciplineChemistry and material engineering
Sub-discipline
Institutions

Anke Weidenkaff (December 27, 1966 in Hanover, Germany) is a German-Swiss chemist and materials scientist. Since 2018, she has been head of the Materials & Resources Group at the Faculty of Materials Science at Technical University Darmstadt.

Biography

Weidenkaff was born in Hanover, Germany, and studied chemistry at the University of Hamburg. She received her PhD in 2000 from ETH Zurich in the Department of Chemistry. In 2006, she received the Venia Legendi for Solid State Chemistry and Materials Science from the University of Augsburg and became section head at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) and associated professor at the University of Bern. From 2013 to 2018, she was director of the Institute of Materials Science at the University of Stuttgart, where she chaired the Department of Chemical Materials Synthesis.[1] Weidenkaff was director of Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies, a research institute of the Fraunhofer Society, from 2018 until 2024.[2] Weidenkaff is professor at Technical University Darmstadt in the field of material science and resource management.[3]

From 2016 to 2019, she was president of the European Thermoelectric Society (ETS), of which she had been a board member since 2007. She is an elected member of the European Materials Research Society's (E-MRS) Executive Committee [4] and was chair of the 2019 E-MRS Spring Meeting.[5] Weidenkaff was a member of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU)[6] from 2020 to 2024. She was elected as a member to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the German Academy of Science and Engineering in 2023.

Research

Weidenkaff's main areas of research and expertise[7] are materials science and resource strategies,[8] including the development, synthesis chemistry, and characterization of substitute materials for energy conversion and storage. Building on scientific knowledge of solid-state chemistry, her current work focuses on materials science and specifically the development of regenerative, sustainable materials and next-generation process technologies for fast and efficiently closed materials cycles. Anke Weidenkaff and her team are currently working on technologies for the production of (green) hydrogen including photoelectrochemical water splitting,[9] the production of carbon nanotubes using microwave plasma synthesis for carbon storage, and sustainable perovskite materials.[9] She is also involved in the development of thermoelectrics, electroceramics and ceramic membranes. She conducts research on sustainable materials and recycling technologies for batteries and fuel cells. Another focus of her work is "Green ICT", the development of sustainable materials and processes for information and communication technology.[10]

International recognition and activities

References

  1. ^ "Fraunhofer IWKS - About us". Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  2. ^ "OB begrüßt Fraunhofer Projektgruppenleiterin Prof. Dr. Weidenkaff" [Lord Mayor welcomes Fraunhofer project group leader Prof. Dr. Weidenkaff] (Press release) (in German). Hanau, Germany: Stadt Hanau. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Materials and Resources Group". Technical University of Darmstadt. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  4. ^ "E-MRS Scientific Council". European Materials Research Society. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  5. ^ "2019 Spring Meeting - EMRS". European Materials Research Society (E-MRS). Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Bundeskabinett beruft WBGU-Mitglieder" [Federal Cabinet appoints WBGU members] (Press release) (in German). Berlin, Germany: German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Publications of Anke Weidenkaff on Google Scholar". Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Rohstoffversorgung langfristig sichern" [Securing raw material supplies in the long term] (Press release) (in German). Munich, Germany: vbw – Vereinigung der Bayerischen Wirtschaft e. V. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  9. ^ a b Reuning, Arndt (29 February 2016). "Perowskit-Technologie - Ungewöhnliches Material für Solarzellen" [Perovskite technology - Unusual material for solar cells] (Press release) (in German). Cologne, Germany: Deutschalndfunk. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Attract Group 'green²ICT'". Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies (IWKS). Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Prof. Dr. Anke Weidenkaff". www.wbgu.de. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  12. ^ Miller, Beth (6 April 2022). "Winners of 2022 Böer awards announced" (Press release). Newark, United States of America: University of Delaware. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Member: Anke Weidenkaff". Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  14. ^ "39 leading scientists join the ranks of acatech". acatech - National Academy of Science and Engineering. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2024.