Prof. Manfred Bayer Inducted into the North Rhine-Westphalia Academy of Sciences
Manfred Bayer has been a professor of “Experimental Physics with a Focus on Spectroscopy of Condensed Matter” at TU Dortmund University since 2002. Between 2014 and 2025, he served as spokesperson or site spokesperson for two Collaborative Research Centers (TRs) of the German Research Foundation (DFG). In these large collaborative projects, he worked with colleagues on research into custom-designed semiconductors and nonlinear photonics. Bayer has received numerous international awards for his outstanding research, including election as a Fellow of the American Physical Society (2012) and as a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2017, currently on leave).
For nearly 20 years, the physicist has also been actively involved in the academic self-governance of TU Dortmund University: he chaired the Senate for more than ten years. He has been the university’s rector since 2020. In this role, he advocates, among other things, for strategic collaboration within the Ruhr University Alliance—comprising Ruhr University Bochum, the University of Duisburg-Essen, and TU Dortmund University—as well as for North Rhine-Westphalia as a hub for science. He is a member of the board of the Digital University of North Rhine-Westphalia and has served as its chair since 2024. He serves as the scientific spokesperson for the “EIN Quantum NRW” network, which is funded by the state government.
About the Academy
The North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts was founded in 1970. In addition to the sciences, it is the only German academy to have also integrated the arts under its umbrella since 2008. Only outstanding researchers and artists are admitted. Members foster scientific dialogue among themselves as well as exchanges with research and cultural institutions in Germany and abroad. According to the Academy’s bylaws, only those who “have distinguished themselves through scientific or artistic achievements” are eligible for election. The Academy currently has 285 full members and 121 corresponding members.