Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kai Sundmacher

Personal Facts

Date of birth: 24 March 1965
Place of birth: Hildesheim (Germany)
Nationality: German

University Education

1998
Habilitation degree (Dr.-Ing. habil.), Venia Legendi: „Chemical and Thermal Process Engineering“, Clausthal University of Technology

1995
Doktor-Ingenieur degree (Dr.-Ing.) in Process Engineering (Grade: with distinction), Dissertation title: „Reactive distillation with catalytic packed beds”, Clausthal University of Technology

1990
Diplom-Ingenieur degree (Dipl.-Ing.) in Process Engineering (Grade: with distinction), Clausthal University of Technology; Diploma thesis preparation at the Institute of Technical Chemistry, Braunschweig University of Technology

1986 - 1990
Studies in Process Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, Germany

1988
Research visit at the German-Dutch Wind Tunnels (DNW), The Netherlands

1984 - 1986
Studies in Mechanical Engineering, University of Hanover, Germany

Professional Career

since 2001
Director and Scientific Member of the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg

since 1999
Full Professor and Chair for Process Systems Engineering at Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg (OvGU), Faculty of Process and Systems Engineering

since 1998
Head of research group „Process Systems Engineering“ at Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg

1997 - 1998
Postdoctoral fellow at Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Newcastle, U.K., Mentor: Professor Dr. Keith Scott

1995 - 1998
Head of the research groups “Reactive Distillation“ and „Electrochemical Engineering“ at the Institute for Chemical Process Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology

1990 - 1995
Research assistant and doctoral student at the Institute for Chemical Process Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, Supervisor: Professor Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Hoffmann

Awards and Honors

since 2021
Member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW)

since 2019
Fellow of the Max Planck School “Matter-to-Life”

2013
Hoogewerff Lecture Award, The Netherlands

since 2010
Guest Professorship, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai

since 2009
Einstein Professorship, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing

2008
Dr. Meyer-Struckmann Scientific Prize, Brandenburg University of Technology

1999
Arnold Eucken Prize, German Society of Chemical Engineers (GVC/VDI, Düsseldorf)

1998
Carl Zerbe Prize, German Society for Petroleum and Coal Science and Technology (DGMK, Hamburg)

1997 - 1998
Postdoctoral fellowship of German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) during the research visit at the University of Newcastle, U.K.

1997
Fluid Separation Processes Group Prize of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), U.K.

1995
Prize for best Ph.D. thesis, Technical University of Clausthal

1990
Hilpert Prize for best Diploma thesis in Chemistry, Braunschweig University of Technology

1985 - 1990
Scholarship of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation

1984
1st Prize in Chemistry during German National Research Competition „Jugend forscht“

Selected Services

since 2020
Member of the selection committee for Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz Awardees of the German Research Foundation (DFG)

since 2019
Spokesperson of the International Max Planck Research School for Advanced Methods in Process and Systems Engineering (IMPRS ProEng), Magdeburg

since 2019
Member of the International Advisory Panel (IAP) of the journal “Chemical Engineering Science” (Elsevier)

since 2018
External Reviewer of consolidator grant proposals, European Research Council (ERC)

since 2018
Member of the selection committee for the allocation of Feodor Lynen Research Fellowships of the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation (AvH)

2018 - 2020
Member of the advisory board of the German Association for Synthetic Biology (GASB)

2017 - 2018
Managing director of the Max Planck Institute DCTS, Magdeburg

since 2016
Chair of the coordination group “Chemical Energy Research” at DECHEMA (German Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology), Frankfurt/Main, Germany

since 2014
Spokesperson of the Max Planck Research Network “Synthetic Biology”

2012-2020
Elected member of the review panel 403 "Chemical and Thermal Process Engineering" of the German Research Foundation (DFG)

since 2012
Review editor of the journal "Fuel Cells" (Wiley)

since 2010
Spokesperson of the “Research Center for Dynamic Systems(CDS)” at Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg

since 2010
Member of the board of directors of the Collaborative Research Center CRC Transregio 63 “Integrated Chemical Processes with Liquid Multiphase Systems” (TU Berlin, TU Dortmund, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg)

2009 -2010
Managing director of the Max Planck Institute DCTS, Magdeburg

2007-2010
Chairperson of GAFOE (German-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposia)

since 2006
Member of the selection committee of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation

since 2006
Member of the advisory board of Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (Wiley)

2003-2019
Executive editor of the journal "Chemical Engineering Science" (Elsevier)

2003 -2004
Managing director of the Max Planck Institute DCTS, Magdeburg

Memberships

• American Chemical Society (ACS)
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
• German Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology(DECHEMA)
• German Society for Petroleum and Coal Science and Technology(DGMK)
• International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE)
• The Association of German Engineers (VDI)
  

Publications

More than 500, including 400 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 5 edited books, 2 research monographs, 27 book chapters, 122 conference papers, 432 conference talks, and 164 conference posters.

Teaching

Courses taught at Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg:

• Process Systems Engineering
• Advanced Process Systems Engineering
• Analysis and Design of Experiments
• Process Dynamics
• Process Optimization
• Fuel Cell Technology