Further information to be added soon.
Prof. Dr. Volker Sieber studied Chemistry and Biochemistry in Bayreuth, (Germany) and Delaware (USA). After getting his PhD he worked as research fellow at CALTECH, Pasadena (USA) with Prof. F.H. Arnold optimising industrially relevant enzymes. Following a brief sojourn at McKinsey & Co., Professor Sieber held a number of positions in the chemicals industry between 2001 and 2008 (Degussa AG, Süd-Chemie AG). He became full professor at Technische Universität München in 2008 and head of the Fraunhofer IGB Straubing branch BioCat (Germany) in 2009 and is an expert in bio- and chemo-catalysis as well as its combination for the conversion of renewables.
Dr. Josef Sperl studied chemistry in Regensburg (Germany) and obtained his PhD at the University of Regensburg working on the design and evolution of (βα)8-barrel enzymes. In 2014 he joined the Chair of Chemistry of Biogenic Resources at the Technical University of Munich as a postdoctoral fellow and is currently working on the development and optimization of multi-enzymatic and chemo-enzymatic reaction cascades.
Dr. Luciana Vieira studied chemistry and obtained her MSc. in materials science at the University of Campinas (Brazil). From 2008 to 2014 she was involved in several academic and industrial projects on electrodeposition of metals from deep eutectic solvents, ionic liquids and aqueous electrolytes at CEST (Center for Electrochemical Surface Technology, Austria). She obtained her PhD in 2014 at the Technische Universität Graz (Austria), where she continued her research on metal electrodeposition as a postdoc fellow. In 2015 she conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Campinas (Brazil) investigating the spectroelectrochemical properties of oxide nanomaterials. Since 2016 she has been working on the development of new electrocatalysts for energy conversion and storage, including electrochemical CO2 reduction, at the institute branch BioCat of Fraunhofer IGB (Germany).
Dr. Michael Richter studied chemistry at the Universities of Mainz and Freiburg i. Br. (Germany), where he obtained his diploma in 2000. In 2005 he obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Leipzig studying the chemical modification of aldo-/ keto-reductases. Afterwards, he returned as a postdoc to the University of Freiburg i. Br., where he worked at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences on thiamin diphosphate-dependent enzymes, alcohol dehydrogenases and oxidative phenol coupling in fungi. 2009 he joined Empa in St. Gallen (Switzerland), a materials research institute within the ETH domain. There he was head of the Biocatalysis group within the Laboratory for Bioactive Materials. Main topics of his work there was the use of enzymes for materials modification spanning from biosensor development to biocatalytic lignin valorization for the use as construction chemicals. His personal interest is applied enzyme technology, the investigation of new enzymes inferred from biosynthetic pathways for diverse applications such as the modification of biopolymers, biomass valorization and the selective synthesis of building blocks, fine chemicals or bioactives. Since 2015 he is a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB (Germany).
Dr. Ilton Barros Daltro de Castro studied chemistry at the Federal University of Bahia (Brazil), where he obtained his diploma in 2002. After getting his PhD in 2010 in organic chemistry at University of Campinas (Brazil) he worked as research fellow at McGill University in Montreal (Canada) on the development of new nano-molecules based on DNA . From 2013 to 2016 he was involved in several projects on biomass conversion and catalytic lignin valorization spotlighting the mechanism aspects at the Max-Plack-Institut für Kolehforschung in Mulheim and der Ruhr (Germany). Since 2017 he joined the research and development department at Cia Nitro Química Brasileira (Brazil) as a senior chemist focusing on the development of new projects as well as leading projects in collaboration with Universities and Technologic Institutes.
Danilo Ribeiro de Lima, MSc. is biorefinery researcher at Fibria S.A. (Brazil). Danilo graduated from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Campinas, Brazil with B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemical engineering before spending one year and a half as a researcher at Joanneum Research in Graz (Austria). Back to Brazil, he also worked as a process engineer at the Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira, Piracicaba before joining Fibria. He has 10 years of experience in biobased chemicals production, process engineering, biorefinery and business development models and has worked with biodiesel production, pyrolysis, gasification, hydrolysis (second generation ethanol) and biomass valorization. His professional interests include R&D, process modeling and optimization.
Sören Metz studied Business Administration in Rostock, Valencia (Spain) and Vila Real (Portugal) and did his MBA in Management and Environmental Technologies at USP in Brazil. He spent several years working in tourism and start-ups in Germany before starting at the German House of Research and Innovation in 2010 as a Program Manager. In 2012 he joined TUM as the Director of the Liaison Office for Latin America based in São Paulo. In this function he is helping and forging the relations of TUM with Latin America in assisting research cooperation and contracts with local funding agencies (FAPESP). Since 2017 he also serves as the chairman of the advisory committee of the German House for Research and Innovation in São Paulo.
Dr. Kathrin Winkler studied chemistry at the universities of Göttingen and Santa Barbara and carried out doctoral research in physical chemistry at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen where she received her doctorate in 2003. She spent several years in biophysics research before joining the DFG in 2008. As a program director, she was responsible for all DFG programs related to physical chemistry. Besides that, she coordinated the European network ERA-Chemistry. Since July 2015, she is directing the DFG office Latin America in São Paulo, which is part of the German House of Science and Innovation. The Latin America office is contact point for questions related to scientific collaborations between Germany and all countries of Latin America. It maintains close contact to DFG’s partner organizations in Latin America and helps establishing cooperation between German and Latin American scientists.
Anna Barkhausen is directing the Information Centre of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in São Paulo since March 2015. Besides, she works as a DAAD Lecturer at the University of Campinas (Unicamp) offering German courses and providing counseling and information regarding study and research in Germany. She graduated in modern German Literature, Portuguese and German as a Foreign Language in 2002 and completed her first internship while still studying, at the Casa de Cultura Alemã, at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) in Brazil. From 2003 to 2007 she worked as a DAAD Lecturer at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. Before moving to Brazil, she gathered extensive working experience with international academic cooperation in the Department of International Relations of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder).