Principle member
Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth
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Prof. Dr Thomas Hirth is head of the Institute for Interfacial Engineering (IGVT) at Stuttgart University, and of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB) in Stuttgart. After obtaining a PhD in chemistry, he turned to applied research, becoming a member of staff at the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology ICT. After only two and a half years there he became, at 33 years old, head of the environmental engineering product field, which over the following years he expanded to make one of the largest and most successful departments at the Fraunhofer ICT. His work focused on the fuel use of renewable raw materials, high pressure engineering, environmentally friendly production processes and circular economy. Not least because of his combination of academic knowledge and practical experience, the Frauenhofer board appointed him in 2005 as the coordinator of the Fraunhofer innovation topic ‘Industrial White Biotechnology’. Hirth has established himself far beyond the Fraunhofer Society as an expert in renewable raw materials, sustainable production and white biotechnology. |