René Deplanque

FIZ CHEMIE Berlin, Germany

Professor Dr. René Deplanque was born in 1950 in Lübeck in Northern Germany. After completing his "Diplom" studies as a chemical engineer in Hamburg, he completed his Masters of Science degree in electrochemistry and his Masters of Philosophy degree in physical chemistry at Sir John Cass College, Guild Hall University London. After subsequently gaining his Doctor of Philosophy degree in engineering sciences in addition to his research activities he taught electrochemistry and physical chemistry at the University of Cambridge.

After returning to Germany in 1983 he worked for Brown Bovery in Mannheim where he was Head of the Electrochemistry Laboratory and Head of the Computer Department for the company' s German operations. He was also assistant to the Board. In 1988 he moved to the Gmelin Institute of the Max Planck Gesellschaft and was Head of the Gmelin-online project.

In 1994 he became Managing Director of the Fachinformationszentrum CHEMIE GmbH in Berlin (FIZ CHEMIE BERLIN; the Chemistry Information Centre); a position which he holds to the present. In 2000 he was appointed Professor of the Technical University Berlin.

Dr. Deplanque is a member of various national and international committees. He acts as adviser to several organisations and governments.