Prof. Dr. Hauke Harms
Contact/Address
Prof. Dr. Hauke Harms
Head of the Department of Environmental Microbiology
Department of Environmental Microbiology
Helmholtz Centre
for Environmental Research - UFZ
Permoserstr. 15
04318 Leipzig, Germany
Phone: +49 341 235 1260
Fax: +49 341 235 2247
hauke.harms@ufz.de
CV / Scientific Career
1988
Diploma in Biology, University of Hamburg
1988 - 1990
PhD, University of Hamburg; subject 'Bacterial Degradation of Dioxin'
1991 - 1993
Long-Term Fellow of European Environmental Research Organisation (EERO) at the Agricultural University of Wageningen, The Netherlands
1993 - 1998
Assistant Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich and head of a research team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (EAWAG)
1998 - 2003
Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
since 2004
Professor for Environmental Microbiology at the University of Leipzig and Head of the Department of Environmental Microbiology at the UFZ Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle
Research interests
I am interested in the ecology and ecophysiology of microbial pollutant degradation in soil and groundwater. In particular my research tries to understand and overcome the low bioavailability of environmental chemicals for degradation. Another focus of my research is on the interaction of bacteria with natural interfaces, which governs both the mobility of bacteria in the subsurface and the distribution of the metabolic activity in nature.
Co-operations / Projects
- Molecular analysis of microbial communities involved in environmental biotechnological treatment processes (funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation)
- Reconciling commercial exploitation of peat with biodiversity in peatland ecosystems (
RECIPE) - Evaluation of availability to biota for organic compounds ubiquitous in soils and sediments (ABACUS) (funded by the BMBF)
- Use of bioavailability-promoting microorganism to decontaminate PAH-contaminated soils: preparation towards large-scale field exploitation (BIOSTIMUL) (funded by the BMBF)
- Assessment of in situ transformation of xenobiotic organic material (AXIOM) (funded by the EU)
- Possibilities and limits of the biological clean-up of mineral oil-contaminated, saline soils (funded by the BMBF)
- Development of a procedure for the biotechnological production of arsenic sensors for water analysis (funded by the SMUL)
Other Professional Activities
Managing Editor of 'BIODEGRADATION';
Editorial Board Member of 'Applied and Environmental Microbiology'
