From Supramolecular Polymers to Functional Systems & Materials – Prof. Meijer

Egbert (Bert) Willem Meijer is professor at Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e) and Academy Professor of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is one of the founders of the field of supramolecular polymer chemistry.
His research uses synthetic chemistry to create supramolecular polymers with unique dynamic properties. Prof. Meijer pioneered dendrimer chemistry, producing compounds now used clinically as phosphate binders. He developed semiconducting polymers for LEDs emitting circularly polarized light and improved photoelectrochemical water splitting. His lab founded SupraPolix, commercializing supramolecular polymers for applications like adhesives, cosmetics, and regenerative medicine.

My dream is that at one point in time we will understand so much about how molecules work together, that we can make the simplest form of life in a laboratory.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Bert Meijer studied chemistry at the University of Groningen and obtained his master’s degree in 1978. In 1982 he earned his PhD degree summa cum laude under supervision of Prof. Hans Wijnberg. In 1982 Meijer started working at the Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven and in 1989 he moved to DSM Research in Geleen. In 1991 he was installed as full professor of Organic Chemistry at the department for Chemical Engineering and Chemistry of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). In 1999 his chair was also established at the department for Biomedical Engineering. Since 2004 Bert Meijer is a distinguished university professor of Molecular Sciences at TU/e. He founded the TU/e Institute for Complex Molecular Systems in 2008 and is now a co-director. Meijer is adjunct professor of Macromolecular Chemistry at Radboud University Nijmegen since 1994 and distinguished visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara since 2008. In 2014 Bert Meijer was inducted as Academy Professor of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since 2018 he is also an external member of the scientific staff of the Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany.
Among the researchers he supervised is Fabian Eisenreich, who will be giving a talk here next week.

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