Jürgen P. Rabe is a German

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and nanoscientist.

Life

Jürgen P. Rabe studied

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

RWTH Aachen RWTH Aachen University (), in German ''Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen'', is a German public research university located in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With more than 47,000 students enrolled in 144 study prog ...

where in 1981 he obtained his diploma in physics, based on a thesis on

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. Its conductivity can be modified by adding impurities (" doping") to its crystal structure. When two regions with different doping level ...

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

with Peter Grosse. 1984 he obtained his

doctoral degree A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from the Department of Physics at the

Technische Universität München The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

, based on a

biophysical Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. B ...

thesis on model

membrane A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. Bi ...

s, promoted by

Erich Sackmann Erich Sackmann (26 November 1934 – 29 May 2024) was a German experimental physicist and a pioneer of biophysics in Europe. Education Sackmann obtained his MSc (1961) and PhD (1964) degrees from the University of Stuttgart in the group of T ...

. As a visiting scientist at the

IBM Almaden Research Center IBM Research is the research and development division for IBM, an American multinational information technology company. IBM Research is headquartered at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, near IBM headquarters ...

in San José (1984–1986) he initiated the use of

scanning tunneling microscopy A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is a type of scanning probe microscope used for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Its development in 1981 earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, then at IBM Zürich, the Nobel Prize in ...

for

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...

monolayer A monolayer is a single, closely packed layer of entities, commonly atoms or molecules. Monolayers can also be made out of cells. ''Self-assembled monolayers'' form spontaneously on surfaces. Monolayers of layered crystals like graphene and molyb ...

s, which he continued in Gerhard Wegner’s department at the

Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research The Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research () is a scientific center in the field of polymer science located in Mainz, Germany. The institute was founded in 1983 by Erhard W. Fischer and Gerhard Wegner. Belonging to the Chemistry, Physics and ...

. In 1992 he obtained his habilitation on this topic and became a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

for

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

at Johannes Gutenberg-Universität in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. Since 1994 Rabe is full professor for

experimental physics Experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines in the field of physics that are concerned with the observation of physical phenomena and experiments. Methods vary from discipline to discipline, from simple experiments and o ...

with an emphasis on

macromolecular A macromolecule is a "molecule of high relative molecular mass, the structure of which essentially comprises the multiple repetition of units derived, actually or conceptually, from molecules of low relative molecular mass." Polymers are physi ...

and

supramolecular Supramolecular chemistry refers to the branch of chemistry concerning chemical systems composed of a discrete number of molecules. The strength of the forces responsible for spatial organization of the system range from weak intermolecular forces, ...

systems at the Department of Physics at the

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt, ...

. Rabe is an elected scientific member of the

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the M ...

and external member of the

Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces The Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (German: ''Max-Planck-Institut für Kolloid- und Grenzflächenforschung'') is located in Potsdam-Golm Science Park in Golm, Potsdam, Germany. It was founded in 1990 as a successor of the Institu ...

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

-Golm as well as founding director of the Integrative Research Institute for the Sciences IRIS Adlershof of Humboldt-Universität. He was visiting professor at the Materials Department of

ETH Zürich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ra ...

and for the Department of Chemistry at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. Jürgen P. Rabe is the brother of Klaus F. Rabe and cousin of

Sophia Rabe-Hesketh Sophia Rabe-Hesketh is a statistician who works as a professor in the Department of Educational Statistics and Biostatistics at the University of California, Berkeley.scanning tunneling microscopy A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is a type of scanning probe microscope used for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Its development in 1981 earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, then at IBM Zürich, the Nobel Prize in ...

research on the structure, dynamics, and electronic properties of self-assembled molecular systems at solid-liquid interfaces. He developed concepts for a workbench to manipulate individual

macromolecule A macromolecule is a "molecule of high relative molecular mass, the structure of which essentially comprises the multiple repetition of units derived, actually or conceptually, from molecules of low relative molecular mass." Polymers are physi ...

s and supramolecular systems, employing scanning probe microscopies, light, and molecularly modified

graphite Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...

surfaces, which has been used to correlate structure and dynamics of molecular systems with mechanical, electronic, optical, and (bio)chemical properties from molecular to macromolecular lengths and time scales. It also led to the development of prototypical quasi 1- and 2- dimensional organic-inorganic hybrid systems, based on opto-electronically active molecular or graphene-based

nanopore A nanopore is a pore of nanometer size. It may, for example, be created by a pore-forming protein or as a hole in synthetic materials such as silicon or graphene. When a nanopore is present in an electrically insulating artificial membrane, membra ...

s. In collaborative and interdisciplinary projects Rabe contributed to the development of advanced functional materials, including dendronized and

conjugated polymers In physical organic chemistry, a conjugated system is a system of connected p-orbitals with delocalized electrons in a molecule, which in general lowers the overall energy of the molecule and increases stability. It is conventionally represent ...

, multivalent biopolymer complexes, ultrathin films of conjugated molecules, supramolecular polymers and helical nanofilaments, nanographenes, and

2D materials In materials science, the term single-layer materials or 2D materials refers to crystalline solids consisting of a single layer of atoms. These materials are promising for some applications but remain the focus of research. Single-layer materials ...

as well as mixed 2D/3D heterostructures.

External links

* For publications from Jürgen P. Rabe se
"ResearcherID D-1032-2010"
an
"Google Scholar"

Curriculum Vitae Jürgen P. Rabe

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabe, Jurgen P. 21st-century German physicists 1955 births 20th-century German physicists Living people Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research alumni Max Planck Society alumni