Prof. Dr. Oliver Dumele
Chair of Organic Chemistry
University of Cologne
Greinstrasse 4
50939 Köln, Germany
e-Mail: odumele –at– uni-koeln.de
Administrative office:
Anja Bitners
e-Mail: anja.bitners –at– uni-koeln.de
Phone: +49 (0)221 470 5753
Oliver studied chemistry at the University of Mainz and UC Berkeley. After research projects at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, BASF Ludwigshafen, and NUS Singapore, he moved to Switzerland for his doctoral studies. In 2015, he received his PhD in Chemistry from ETH Zürich in the group of Prof. Diederich. After postdoctoral research with Prof. Stupp at Northwestern University, he started his independent research group at Humboldt University Berlin. In 2023, he was appointed as Professor for Functional Organic Materials at the University of Freiburg. Since 2025, Oliver holds the Chair for Organic Chemistry as Full Professor at the University of Cologne. His current research focuses on the design and synthesis of supramolecular materials, photomagnetic molecular switches, and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with applications in sensing and battery materials.
Curriculum vitae
born 1987 in Ludwigshafen a. Rh., Germany
Research Appointments
| since 2025: | Full Professor and Chair of Organic Chemistry (W3), University of Cologne |
| 2023–2025: | Associate Professor for Functional Organic Materials (W3), University of Freiburg |
| 2019–2023: | Assistant Professor (Group Leader), Humboldt University Berlin. Mentor: Prof. S. Hecht |
| 2016–2018: | Postdoc with Prof. S. I. Stupp, Northwestern University, USA |
| 2015–2016: | Postdoc with Prof. F. Diederich, ETH Zürich, Switzerland |
Education
| 2011–2015: | PhD in Supramolecular Organic Chemistry with Prof. F. Diederich, ETH Zürich. |
| 2011: | Visiting researcher, National University of Singapore with Prof. T. Choon-Hong (4 months). |
| 2011: | Internship at BASF, Ludwigshafen (4 months). |
| 2010–2011: | Diploma Thesis, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz with Prof. K. Müllen and Prof. T. Weil |
| 2009: | Research stay at UC Berkeley with Prof. J. M. J. Fréchet (9 months). |
| 2006–2011: | Diploma studies in Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz. Intermediate and final grade 1.0 (A+) |
Awards and Scholarships
| 2024: | JSP Fellowship (Bürgenstock Conference) |
| 2023: | Ernst Haage Prize |
| 2023: | European Young Investigator Award, European Chemical Society, Organic Division |
| 2023: | Dozentenpreis of the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie |
| 2022: | BMBF “BattFutur” Research Group Award, Federal Ministry of Education and Research |
| 2022: | Thieme Chemistry Journals Award |
| 2020: | University of Zurich—HU Berlin Seed Funding Collaboration Award (with M. Rickhaus of UZH) |
| 2019: | Young Innovator Award at the „Forum of Young Leading Scientists“, Berlin (10’000 EUR) |
| 2019: | Liebig Award of the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie (5 years allowance) |
| 2018: | Postdoctoral Professional Development Award, Northwestern University |
| 2017–2018: | Leopoldina Postdoctoral Fellowship, German National Academy of Sciences |
| 2016: | SNF Postdoctoral Fellowship, Swiss National Science Foundation |
| 2016: | ETH Medal for the most outstanding PhD Thesis |
| 2012–2015: | Kekulé Doctoral Scholarship, Fonds der Chemischen Industrie |
| 2012–2014: | Doctoral Scholarship of the Studienstiftung |
| 2007–2011: | Fellowship of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes |
| 2006: | German Chemical Society (GDCh) Award for “Outstanding Achievements in Chemistry at High School” |
| 2006: | Jugend forscht Prize Winner (Chemistry) at the National Level for “Sustainability Research in Biotechnology” |
| 2005: | Third Round-Award of the German Chemistry Olympiad |
Academic Functions
| 07/2024– | Member of the Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies (FIT) |
| 06/2024– | Member of the Freiburg Materials Research Center (FMF) |
| 01/2021– | International Advisory Board of the European Journal of Organic Chemistry |
| 03/2020– | Reviewer Board of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes |
| 2021–2024 | Member of the Integrative Research Institute for the Science (IRIS) Adlershof |
| 2019–2024 | Principal Investigator within the Max Planck Research School on Multiscale Bio-Systems |