With over 270 degree programs, FAU is among the 15 largest and leading universities for research in Germany. Over 6,000 employees and more than 39,000 students promote a culture of innovation, diversity and passion.
Get to know our newly-appointed professors who are driving forward research with their fresh ideas and creative approaches. Find out more about the people behind our research projects and their career paths, visions, and motivation for a successful academic future.
Prof. Dr. Ian Marius Peters – Professorship for Sustainable Materials for Renewable Energy Conversion (WW10)
From the dream of becoming a sailor to research on sustainable solar energy – the new FAU professor reveals what drives him and why the future of our planet is close to his heart.
What is your main area of research?
Sustainability of renewable energy and specifically photovoltaics.
Why did you choose these topics?
Photovoltaics is the key technology for clean energy in the 21st century. For me, this is about a better future for our planet.
Where were you before coming to FAU?
I have been in Erlangen since 2019 and work here at the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy Production (HIERN). Before that, I was at MIT in Cambridge, in Singapore and at Fraunhofer ISE in Freiburg.
Where did you study and what subjects?
In Freiburg, physics.
Which events and activities would you like to take part in in Erlangen and the surroundings?
I like being outdoors. There are plenty of places to visit in and around Erlangen.
What is your most useful tool as a professor?
In lectures? My voice.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Sailor.
Do you have a role model? If so, did they influence your academic or professional career?
David Attenborough. I find his love of nature and his continued commitment to protecting it well into old age incredibly impressive! Has that influenced me? Perhaps in the sense that I hope to have a similar kind of positive impact.
Have you got any hidden talents?
I can fold a boat out of almost any piece of paper (see childhood career ambition).
Is there something you’ve always wanted to do?
I actually also do the things I’ve always wanted to do. Or do you mean things I’d still like to do at the moment? Watching a whale shark in the wild, preferably while diving, would be one.