Hans Christian Öttinger

Biography

Hans Christian Öttinger has been full Professor of Polymer Physics in the Department of Materials at ETH Zürich since 1996. From 2000 to 2002 he served as the Chairman of the Department of Materials. He has repeatedly served as the Head of the Institute of Polymers and, for a total of seven years, as the Director of Studies. His main interest is in nonequilibrium systems and the behavior of complex fluids or soft matter. The philosophy of science is a new interest that has a growing impact on his work. Prof. Öttinger was born in 1958 and studied physics at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. He obtained his diploma in quantum field theory in 1981 and earned his doctorate in 1983 with a dissertation on materials with spatially modulated magnetic structures. Following a postdoc period at the Chemical Engineering Department and Rheology Research Center of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, USA, he returned to the University of Freiburg, where he completed his habilitation in the field of theoretical physics in 1988. In 1989 he joined the Department of Materials at ETH Zurich, where he first worked as senior researcher and lecturer and from 1992 to 1996 as assistant professor.

Research Interest

Nonequilibrium systems includes quantum dissipation and its possible impact on quantum field theory.