Former President
Professor Metin Tolan
Professor Metin Tolan was the President of the University of Göttingen fromApril 2021 until February 2025.
Curriculum vitae
Academic and professional career
| Since April 2021 | President of the University of Göttingen |
| 2001 - 2021 | C4 Professorship for Experimental Physics at the TU Dortmund University. Chair of Experimental Physics I |
| 1998 - 2001 | Habilitation in Experimental Physics. Lecturer at Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel (Germany) |
| 1994 - 1998 | Research visits in the USA at Brookhaven National Laboratory (1994), Exxon Research Laboratories (1994), Stony Brook University, New York (1995 and 1998) and Argonne National Laboratory (1996 and 1997) |
| 1993 - 1998 | Postdoctoral researcher (Hochschulassistent) at the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel. |
| 1990 - 1993 | Research Assistant, Institute for Experimental Physics, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel. Doctorate in physics (dissertation subject: "X-ray scattering from laterally structured surfaces - experiment and theory") |
| 1984 - 1989 | Studied Physics with a subsidiary subject Mathematics, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel. Degree in Mathematical Physics |
Awards, scholarships and memberships
| 2018 | Awarded the Badge of Honour (Ehrennadel) from the German Physical Society |
| 2017 | Robert Wichard Pohl Prize from the German Physical Society for outstanding contributions to physics |
| 2016 | Science Communication Medal at the Göttinger Literaturherbst (Göttingen’s annual autumn literature festival) |
| 2013 | Communicator Award from the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Stifterverband |
| 2010 | Awarded the Silver Badge of Honour for special services to the research centre DESY in Hamburg |
| 2010 | Elected Professor of the Year by the magazine UNICUM Beruf in the category of natural sciences and medicine (selected from 600 nominations across four fields) |
| 2008 | Awarded the teaching prize of the TU Dortmund |
| 2000 | First on the short-list for a chair (C4) in Experimental Physics at the Free University of Berlin in conjunction with a departmental chair at the Hahn-Meitner Institute in Berlin (turned down because, in parallel, accepted the call to TU Dortmund) |
| 2000 | Call for a C3 Professorship for Experimental Physics at the University of Greifswald (turned down) |
| 1999 | Full Professorship for Materials Science at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (turned down) |
| 1993 | Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, University Prize for the best dissertation |
Management and committee responsibilities
| 2016 - 2020 | Vice-Rector for Finance at TU Dortmund University |
| 2014 - 2021 | Member of the University Council of the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel |
| Since 2013 | Member of the newly founded Scientific Advisory Board of Forschungszentrum Jülich |
| 2011 - 2017 | Member of the Science Advisory Board of the research neutron source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) in Munich |
| 2011 - 2016 | Pro-rector for Teaching at TU Dortmund University |
| Since 2010 | Member and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences - ISAS in Dortmund |
| 2009 - 2010 | Member of the German-Russian BMBF steering committee for cooperation on large-scale research facilities |
| 2009 - 2010 | Member of the Board of Trustees of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund |
| 2008 - 2011 | Vice-Rector for Research at TU Dortmund University |
| 2008 - 2020 | Member of the Rectorate of TU Dortmund University and standing representative of the Rector |
| 2008 - 2014 | Head of the BMBF Strategy Committee Research with Photons |
| 2008 - 2013 | Chair of the NRW Research Training Group Research with Synchrotron Radiation in the Nanosciences and Biosciences |
| 2008 - 2012 | Member of the steering committee and editor in charge of the BMBF-funded internet portal Welt der Physik (World of Physics) |
| 2008 - 2012 | Member of the Executive Board of the German Physical Society (DPG) with responsibility for public relations |
| 2007 & 2013 | Head of the Helmholtz Interim Review of the PNI Division at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geestacht (HZG) |
| 2007 - 2016 | Appointment as Vice-Chairman (until 2010) and as Chairman (from 2010) to the BMBF expert committee on collaborative research on large facilities |
| 2006 - 2009 | Member of the three-member board of the Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences - ISAS in Dortmund |
| 2005 - 2008 | Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of BESSY (2007-2008 Deputy Chairman of the Board) |
| 2004 - 2010 | Member of the Scientific Council of the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY). (2005-2007 Vice-Chairman and 2008-2010 Chairman of the Scientific Council and Guest of the Board of Directors of DESY.) |
| 2004 - 2008 | Dean of the Faculty of Physics at TU Dortmund University |
| 2003 | Full member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences (category: Natural Sciences and Medicine) |
| 2001 - 2010 and 2013 – 2021 |
co-opted member of the Committee Research with Synchrotron Radiation as source representative |
| 2001 - 2012 | Head of the Centre for Synchrotron Radiation (ZfSy) at TU Dortmund University |
Main research interests
- Research into the interfacial behaviour of "soft matter" (polymers, liquids, biomaterials)
- Use of synchrotron radiation for materials research in general
Scientific publications (selection)
2013 | Journal Article | Original WorkMicroscopic structure of water at elevated pressures and temperatures
Sahle, C. J.; Sternemann, C.; Schmidt, C.; Lehtola, S.; Jahn, S.; Simonelli, L.& Huotari, S. u.a. (2013)
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(16) pp. 6301-6306.
Details DOI PMID PMC
2014 | Journal Article | Original Work
Reentrant liquid-liquid phase separation in protein solutions at elevated hydrostatic pressures
Möller, J.; Grobelny, S.; Schulze, J.; Bieder, S.; Steffen, A.; Erlkamp, M.& Paulus, M. u.a. (2014)
Physical Review Letters, 112(2) art. 028101.
Details DOI PMID PMC
2017 | Journal Article | Original Work
The Hydrophobic Gap at High Hydrostatic Pressures
Wirkert, F. J; Hölzl, C.; Paulus, M.; Salmen, P.; Tolan, M.; Horinek, D.& Nase, J. (2017)
Angewandte Chemie. International Edition, 56(42) pp. 12958-12961.
Details DOI PMID PMC
2018 | Journal Article | Original Work
Water-Mediated Protein-Protein Interactions at High Pressures are Controlled by a Deep-Sea Osmolyte
Julius, K.; Weine, J.; Berghaus, M.; König, N.; Gao, M.; Latarius, J.& Paulus, M. u.a. (2018)
Physical Review Letters, 121(3) art. 038101.
Details DOI PMID PMC
2019 | Journal Article | Original Work
Impact of Macromolecular Crowding and Compression on Protein–Protein Interactions and Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation Phenomena
Julius, K.; Weine, J.; Gao, M.; Latarius, J.; Elbers, M.; Paulus, M.& Tolan, M. u.a. (2019)
Macromolecules, 52(4) pp. 1772-1784.
Details DOI
The complete list of publications of the Tolan group can be found here: http://www.e1.physik.tu-dortmund.de/cms/de/AG_Tolan/publikationen/index.htmlhttp://www.e1.physik.tu-dortmund.de/cms/de/AG_Tolan/publikationen/index.html