Internal Member – vice ChairmanMatthias Bartelmann
Prof. Dr Matthias Bartelmann (born in 1965), is a theoretical astrophysicist at the Institute of Theoretical Physics at Heidelberg University.
Prof. Bartelmann studied physics at LMU Munich and went to the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) in Garching to work on his final thesis (Diplomarbeit). In 1992 he gained his doctorate at LMU Munich with a dissertation likewise supervised at the MPA, which was awarded the Otto Hahn Medal of the Max Planck Society. Apart from time spent at Harvard in 1994–95, he stayed at the MPA until 2003. In 1998 he earned his habilitation at LMU Munich and received a Heisenberg scholarship from the German Research Foundation. From 1997 to 2003, he organised and directed the German contribution to Planck, the European Satellite Project that investigated the cosmic microwave background. In 2003 he accepted a professorship at Heidelberg University.
Prof. Bartelmann was Dean (2006–2008) and Vice-Dean (2008–2012) of the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy and spokesperson of the Research and Strategy Commission of Heidelberg University (2012–2019). From 2012 to 2016 he was on the board of the German Physical Society. He is also a member of several other boards.
Prof. Bartelmann explores cosmological questions, in particular the origin, development and universality of cosmic structures. He applies methods from statistical physics to cosmic systems. He is a member of the STRUCTURES Cluster of Excellence. Furthermore, he is the author of a number of text books and has several times received his faculty’s prize for outstanding teaching.
He joined the Heidelberg University Council in October 2021.