Hermann-Staudinger Prize for Kurt Kremer

Award for research in the field of multiscale simulation methods

Kurt Kremer, Director Emeritus at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, was awarded the prestigious Hermann Staudinger Prize of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) on September 16. The award, endowed with 7,500 euros, is presented to him “... in recognition of his groundbreaking work in the field of numerical simluation of soft matter, with which he has fundamentally expanded the spectrum of models and methods....”. With a view to concrete applications, he developed multiscale simulation methods and “...established simulations as an essential link between macromolecular chemistry and theoretical polymer physics.” Today, these methods are considered an essential tool in polymer science.
 

The simulation of huge macromolecules, some of which consist of several thousand individual atoms, and their interaction poses major challenges even for today's computers. Kurt Kremer, Director Emeritus at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, has made great progress in this field and has thus significantly shaped the foundations of modern polymer simulation.  

Back in the 1980s, he developed the “Kremer-Grest-Bead-Spring-Model” and “Bond-Fluctuation-Model”, which are now used as standard in the simulation of polymer properties. These models have made a decisive contribution to understanding the behavior of polymers at the molecular level and have thus provided important insights into polymer melts, elastomers and biopolymers.

Kurt Kremer has now been awarded the prestigious Hermann Staudinger Prize of the German Chemical Society for his work. According to the GDCh, with the methods he has developed he has “established simulations as an essential link between macromolecular chemistry and theoretical polymer physics.” The award ceremony for this €7,500 prize took place as part of the Biennial Meeting of the Macromolecular Division of the GDCh “Makro 2024” in Dresden. The meeting, which was held under the motto “Polymers for a Sustainable Future”, brought together leading experts in the field of macromolecular chemistry to discuss the latest advances and challenges in polymer research.