Jürgen Rödel

Jürgen Rödel (born September 17, 1958 in Hof) is a German materials scientist and professor of non-metallic inorganic materials at the Technische Universität Darmstadt.

He is particularly well known for his fundamental and pioneering work on the mechanical and functional properties of ceramics. This includes his research work on the sintering behaviour of ceramics and the development of lead-free piezoceramics. Until then, lead-free piezo materials were considered impossible. Through meticulous research, he found the first lead-free systems with "Giant" elongation. In 2008, he received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, the highest award for German researchers, for his contributions to the development of ferroelectric functional ceramics, new lead-free piezoelectric ceramics and novel gradient materials. Provided by Wikipedia