Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P)

The Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) ranks among the top research centers in the field of polymer science world-wide. The institute was founded in 1983 on the campus of the Johannes Gutenberg University and commenced work in June 1984.

The beginning of 2014 saw a total of 518 people working at the MPI-P. The work force was made up of 121 scientists, 147 doctoral and diploma students, 76 scholarship holders and 174 technical, administrative and auxiliary staff.

The focus on so-called soft materials and macro-molecular materials has resulted in the worldwide unique position of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and its research focus. The Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research offers ideal conditions for conducting outstanding research. The institute combines all the necessary specialized expertise - from the creative design of new materials, from their synthesis in the lab to their physical characterization as well as the theoretical understanding of polymer characteristics.

The Institute is divided into six working areas of basic scientific research into the field of polymers.

• Structure and Dynamics
• Surfaces and Interfaces
• Functional Materials and Devices
• Approaches to Synthesis
• Development of Methods
• Supramolecular Architectures

There is strong interaction between the different departments working on interdisciplinary research projects. In addition the institute has several service groups at its disposal, e.g. analysis of polymers, spectroscopy, electronic data processing, x-ray structure analysis, atomic force microscopy and mechanical spectroscopy. Each service group is headed by one of the institute’s directors, but these services can be used by all the scientists at the institute.