Junior Professor Dr. Anna Schenk at the small-angle X-ray scattering facility of the "Mesoscale Characterization: Scattering Techniques" keylab at the Bavarian Polymer Institute (BPI). Photo: UBT / C. Wißler.
The Bayreuth prize winner's research focuses on bio-inspired crystallisation control. In this promising branch of research at the interface of physical chemistry, biology, and material sciences, the aim is to learn from nature in the design of complex materials tailored to specific technological applications. The key here is to understand the underlying mechanisms of mineral deposition and self-organisation. For example, inorganic crystal structures are used in numerous organisms to build hard tissues – for instance, in vertebrate bones, mussel shells, and snail shells. These crystal structures are often amazingly well adapted to their respective functions. The key factor here is their architecture. They consist of tiny mineral crystals, whose arrangement is determined by soft biomolecules.
"We are seeking to adopt the often very sophisticated construction principles of nature in order to then transfer them to artificial systems. Thereby we want to be able to specifically control the structures and functions of new materials, such as catalysts for water splitting, in the laboratory," says Jun.-Prof. Dr Schenk. With this goal, her working group studies physical and chemical processes of self-organisation all the way from the smallest nanoscale units to microscopically visible structures and larger components. "Linking these different length scales is an exciting challenge that is becoming increasingly important both in basic research and in innovative developments towards functional materials," says Schenk.
With her research work, the Bayreuth junior professor is involved in the Keylab "Mesoscale Characterization: Scattering Techniques" of the Bavarian Polymer Institute (BPI) and in the DFG Collaborative Research Centre 840 "From Particulate Nanosystems to Mesotechnology" at the University of Bayreuth, among other projects.
Science Minister Bernd Sibler acknowledges the high relevance of the Bayreuth prize winner's research work: "Junior Professor Dr Schenk’s research is truly pioneering work. Her unique combination of different concepts from various scientific disciplines stands to contribute to answering specific problems with regard to the Energiewende (nuclear and fossil fuel phase-out). Dr. Schenk's work is thus a prime example of visionary research at the very highest level in connection with one of the central issues for the future of our society. Having such a prize winner in the Free State of Bavaria naturally makes me very proud as Minister of Science! We are doing everything we can to offer excellent research conditions here with, among other things, our billion-dollar Hightech Agenda Bavaria innovation offensive."
About the prize winner
Prof. Dr Anna Schenk was born in Weimar in 1984. After studying chemistry at the University of Leipzig, she completed her doctorate with a thesis on bio-inspired calcite crystals at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. After postdoctoral stays at the University of Leeds and the University of Stuttgart, she was appointed Junior Professor at the University of Bayreuth in 2017. Since then, she has headed the research group for colloidal systems in the Department of Chemistry. In her scientific career to date, the Bayreuth award winner has been supported by scholarships from Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft (German business foundation), the Christiane Nüsslein-Vollhardt-Stiftung, and the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung. In 2019, she was accepted into the Young Academy of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and acts as its deputy spokesperson.
Contact for scientific information:
Junior Professor Dr. Anna Schenk
Colloidal Systems
University of Bayreuth
Phone: +49 (0)921 / 55-3915
E-mail: anna.schenk@uni-bayreuth.de
