Group

• Senior Scientists
• Postdocs and PhD-Students
• Technical Staff
• Alumni

Research Interests

• protein interactions with ceramic particles
• nano- and micro porous scaffolds for bioengineering applications
• surface functionalized ceramics for biosensor and bioreactor developments
• antibacterial ceramic surfaces
• biomimetic ceramic - organic composites
• advanced ceramic composites

Coordination of Major Research Grants

• DFG Research Training Group “MIMENIMA” (2013 – 2022, 9.5 Mio€)
• BMBF VIP “ResorbBoneScrew” (2013 – 2015, 1 Mio€)
• Bremen Federal State’s priority research programme ‘Ceramic Interface Technology (2010-2019, 3 Mio€)
• ERC Grant “BioCerEng” (2009-2013, 1.5 Mio€)

Education

06/2001 - 01/2005	Ph.D. with distinction in Materials Science, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich Thesis title: "Protein treated aqueous Colloidal Oxide Particle Suspensions: Driving Forces for Protein Adsorption and Conformational Changes"
10/1995 - 02/2001	M.Sc. in Materials Science incl. minors in political and industrial economics, ETH Zurich Thesis title: "Strength of Alumina Fibers Coated with Silica Particles"

Positions and Work Experience

01/2025 - Present	Founder and Scientific Director JHS innovate! Zentrum MaTeNa gGmbH
11/2019 - Present	Speaker of MAPEX, Center of Materials and Processes, University of Bremen
08/2009 - Present	Professor of Advanced Ceramics, University of Bremen
04/2013 - 11/2015	Vice President for Research and Young Academics, University of Bremen
11/2008 - 12/2010	Head of the Biomaterials Technology Department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials Research (IFAM) in Bremen
02/2006 - 07/2009	Assistant Professor Bioceramics, University of Bremen
06/2005 - 01/2006	Postdoctoral Research Fellow Department of Materials and Centre for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Imperial College London
01/2005 - 04/2005	Postdoctoral Research Fellow Advanced Ceramics, ETH Zurich
06/2001 - 01/2005	PhD student Advanced Ceramics (Prof. L. J. Gauckler), ETH Zurich
11/2000 - 04/2001	Research assistant Advanced Ceramics (Prof. F. F. Lange) University of California Santa Barbara, USA
04/1998 - 09/1998	Assistant Project Engineer Finite Element Method Modeling of Water Turbines Sulzer Hydro, Switzerland
02/1996 - 03/1996	General Industrial Training ABB, Baden, Switzerland

Awards and Fellowships

2011	Wessels award for excellent and innovative industrial cooperation
2011	Biomaterials: Most cited article 2006 - 2010 Award
2010	Fritz-Behrens Science Award
2008	European Research Award: ERC Starting Independent Research Grant
2005	ETH HILTI prize 2005 for innovation and excellence in science & engineering of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
2002-2005	PhD Research Fellowship, ETH Zurich
2001	Scholarship and Travel grant, University of California Santa Barbara

Other Appointments

11/2016 - present	Elected Board Member of MAPEX, Centre of Material and Processes, University of Bremen
01/2010 - present	Spokesperson of the special investment program “Ceramic Interface Technology” by the State of Bremen
06/2009 - 03/2013	Chairman of the "Bremer Studienpreis" Committee
06/2009 - 2012	Elected Board Member of the DFG Research Training Group "PoreNet" - Nonmetallic Porous Structures for Physical-Chemical Functions
06/2009 - 03/2013	Chairman of the Internal University Research Committee "BFK NaWi"
02/2009 - present	Member of the German Rector's Conference (HRK) Committee "Research and the Promotion of Young Academics"
02/2008 - 02/2015	Member of the Board German Association of Universities Bundesland Bremen
12/2006 - 06/2010	Chairman of the German Association of Assistant Professors "Deutsche Gesellschaft Juniorprofessur e.V."
01/2007 - 12/2008	Scientific Advisor "duZ Werkstatt

Teaching

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Publications

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Resume

Kurosch Rezwan is a materials scientist and engineer, born in 1975 and raised in Switzerland near Lucerne. He studied Materials Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich, graduating in 2001. His diploma thesis was conducted at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in the Advanced Ceramics group of Prof. Fred F. Lange, where he worked on nanoparticle coatings of oxide fibers.

Following his graduation, he joined the Nonmetallic Inorganic Materials group at ETH Zurich under Prof. Ludwig J. Gauckler, where he completed his PhD on protein adsorption onto colloidal oxide particles in aqueous suspensions. His doctoral thesis, “Protein-treated aqueous colloidal oxide particle suspensions: driving forces for protein adsorption and conformational changes,” was awarded the prestigious ETH HILTI Award (2005) for innovation and excellence in science and engineering.

In 2005, he was a Visiting Research Fellow at Imperial College London, working on scaffolds for tissue engineering and drug delivery systems. In 2006, at the age of 30, he joined the University of Bremen as Assistant Professor (tenure track) for Bioceramics, where he founded and established the Bioceramics research group. He was promoted to Professor of Advanced Ceramics in 2009.

In parallel to his academic career, he has been affiliated with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research IFAM in Bremen, contributing to application-oriented biomaterials research and strengthening the interface between fundamental science and industrial innovation. Through this collaboration, he has played a key role in advancing the translation of materials research into scalable technologies and industrial applications.

A major milestone in his career was the award of a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant in 2008 (€1.5 million), placing him among a highly competitive group of approximately 300 selected researchers out of more than 9,000 applicants. His scientific achievements have been further recognized with the Fritz Behrens Award (2010), the Most Cited Article Award in the field of Biomaterials (2011, for publications between 2006–2010), and the Wessels Award (2011) for excellence in industrial collaboration.

In 2012, he successfully led the acquisition of the DFG Research Training Group “MIMENIMA” as spokesperson, bringing together eight research institutes. Launched in October 2013 with a total funding volume of €9.5 million, the program focuses on the design and functionalization of novel porous ceramic materials for applications in energy, environmental technologies, chemical processing, and space technology.

Beyond his research, Kurosch Rezwan had taken on significant academic leadership responsibilities. He served as Vice President at the University of Bremen, where he contributed to shaping the university’s strategic development, particularly in research, innovation, and knowledge transfer.

He serves as a reviewer for major funding bodies including the European Research Council, the German Research Foundation (DFG), and the German Parliament, and contributes to numerous international journals. He is an editorial board member of Ceramics International and an active member of several materials science societies. He has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications.

Since January 2025, he has been Co-Founder and Scientific Director of the Matena innovate! Center, supported by up to €30 million in funding. Matena is dedicated to accelerating the translation of research into real-world applications and the development of research-driven business concepts.