Jürgen Rödel (born September 17, 1958 in Hof) is a German

materials scientist Materials science is an interdisciplinary field of researching and discovering materials. Materials engineering is an engineering field of finding uses for materials in other fields and industries. The intellectual origins of materials scien ...

and professor of non-metallic inorganic materials at the

Technische Universität Darmstadt The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmsta ...

. He is particularly well known for his fundamental and pioneering work on the mechanical and functional properties of

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

s. This includes his research work on the sintering behaviour of ceramics and the development of lead-free piezoceramics. Until then, lead-free piezo materials were considered impossible. Through meticulous research, he found the first lead-free systems with "Giant" elongation. In 2008, he received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, the highest award for German researchers, for his contributions to the development of ferroelectric functional ceramics, new lead-free piezoelectric ceramics and novel gradient materials.

Life

From 1977 to 1983, Rödel studied materials science at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

and ceramics at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. Rödel received his

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

in materials science from the

. In 1988, he received his Ph.D. in materials science from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. In 1992, he

habilitated Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellen ...

in materials science at the TU Hamburg-Harburg. Since 1994 he has been professor of non-metallic inorganic materials at the

Work

In 2019, Rödel has acquired the research grant Reinhart-Koselleck project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). It was the first time for the Technische Universität Darmstadt that the grant was brought to the university. With the support he is currently working on improving ceramics by disrupting their atomic structure. His team is concentrating on a type of crystal defect that, although trivial for metals, has so far seemed unthinkable for hard ceramics. The mechanical deformation of ceramics takes place under controlled pressure and temperature.

Publications

* * *

Awards

* 1992: Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz-Preis * 2003: Fellow of the

American Ceramic Society The American Ceramic Society (ACerS) is a nonprofit organization of professionals for the ceramics community, with a focus on scientific research, emerging technologies, and applications in which ceramic materials are an element. ACerS is located ...

* 2008: Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz-Preis * 2013: Member of the

German Academy of Science and Engineering Acatech (styled ''acatech),'' founded in 2002 and established as the German Academy of Science and Engineering () on 1 January 2008, represents the interests of German technical sciences independently, in self-determination and guided by the commo ...

(Acatech) * 2016: IEEE Ferroelectrics Recognition Award *2018: Robert B. Sosman Award *2020: Fellow of the

Materials Research Society The Materials Research Society (MRS) is a non-profit, professional organization for materials researchers, scientists and engineers. Established in 1973, MRS is a member-driven organization of approximately 13,000 materials researchers from academi ...

References

External links

His Website at the Technische Universität Darmstadt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodel, Jurgen Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize winners German materials scientists Academic staff of Technische Universität Darmstadt 1958 births Living people University of Erlangen–Nuremberg alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Fellows of the American Ceramic Society Alumni of the University of Leeds