Prof. Dr. Gerrit A. Luinstra

Professor Luinstra joined the Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry of the University of Hamburg in the beginning of 2008. He took over the chair prior held by Professor Kaminsky with research interests in the field of catalytic polymerization of olefins and pyrolysis of plastic waste to valuable monomers. Before moving to the University of Hamburg, Professor Luinstra was a researcher in the Department for Polymer Research of the BASF SE in Ludwigshafen from 1999-2008. He developed in collaboration with several university partners new catalytic polymerization reactions involving polar compounds like epoxides, carbon oxides, formaldehyde, THF and the like, and was responsible for synthetic combinatorial polymer research. After being a Research Fellow at the California Institute of Technologie with Professor Bercaw from 1991 to 1993, he prepared his Habilitation in the laboratories of Professor Brintzinger in Konstanz, also in the field of catalytic (co)polymerization. The Habilitation was awarded in 2000. His graduate and undergraduate chemistry education was at the University of Groningen and was completed with a PhD thesis on organotitanium chemistry (Promotor: Professor Teuben).