Four women join Max Planck science leadership

In 2025, four new female directors were appointed to Max Planck Institutes

March 03, 2026
Computer Science Materials Sciences (M&T) Mathematics
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Raphaële Clément

Director at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart (previously at the University of California, Santa Barbara)

Raphaële Clément investigates how the internal structure of materials influences the performance of rechargeable batteries. Her research focuses on understanding why some battery materials are more efficient, durable, or safe than others. Together with her team, Clément studies these materials down to the level of individual atoms, even as the batteries charge and discharge. By using advanced analytical techniques, she reveals minute structural and chemical changes that determine how well a battery performs. The ultimate goal of her work is to develop new materials that deliver higher performance while being safer and more sustainable.
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Sohini Kar-Narayan

Director at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg (previously at the University of Cambridge)

Sohini Kar-Narayan studies how the internal structure of novel materials determines their functional properties. Her goal is to tailor material characteristics for applications across energy, sensing, and medical technologies. She develops polymer-based nanostructures that respond to external stimuli, such as mechanical stress or temperature changes, and can harvest energy from their surroundings. These materials enable the creation of autonomous systems that operate without external power sources. Through her research, Kar-Narayan is advancing new approaches to the generation, storage, and conversion of renewable energy. Another key focus of her work is the development of intelligent sensors and actuators for use in areas such as soft robotics and bioelectronics.
A woman with gray hair styled back, wearing a white collared shirt and a light gray cardigan. Silver earrings and a delicate necklace are visible.

Catharina Stroppel

Director at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, Bonn (previously at the University of Bonn)

Symmetries play a central role across mathematics and the natural sciences – from the structure of crystals to the fundamental interactions in particle physics. Catharina Stroppel’s research explores such structures. Her field is representation theory, a branch of mathematics that studies how symmetries can be systematically described and analyzed. Stroppel combines methods from representation theory with questions from topology – the mathematics of spatial structures and connections. She develops new mathematical tools to reveal relationships between algebraic structures and geometric objects. Her work extends beyond her immediate field, inspiring progress across various areas of pure mathematics that focus on fundamental structures and their interrelations.
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Carmela Troncoso

Director at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy, Bochum (previously at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland)

Protecting privacy is a defining challenge of the digital age. Carmela Troncoso addresses this by merging cryptographic methods with rigorous system and software analysis to develop and critically challenge privacy-preserving technologies. Troncoso was instrumental in designing decentralised protocols for digital contact tracing, where she scrutinised both their technical integrity and their societal footprint. Beyond design, she audits existing and emerging tools to measure how effectively they protect personal data in the real world. Her work further extends to securing sensitive data in high-stakes fields such as journalism and humanitarian aid, providing a vital, evidence-based reality check for the security claims of modern digital systems.

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