Matthias Thommes is Full Professor and Head of the Institute of Separation Science and Technology at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). He also served as Head of the Department for Chemical and Biological Engineering at FAU from 2021 to 2023. Matthias Thommes obtained his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry in 1993 at the Technical University Berlin. From 1992 to 1995 he was a project scientist at the EURECA mission of the European Space Agency (ESA). In 1996, he moved as an ESA fellow/research associate to the University of Maryland, College Park, USA. In 1998, Matthias joined Quantachrome Corp (Boynton Beach, FL, USA).and was prior to accepting the position at FAU Scientific Director at Quantachrome Corporation, Boynton Beach, USA (from 2001 to 2018). In addition, he held Visiting Professor positions at the University of Edinburgh (UK) and the University of Lorraine (Epinal, Nancy, France) as well as prestigious leadership positions in a number of national and international boards, committees and authoritative bodies in the field of adsorption, nanoporous materials and their characterization. This includes the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)), American Institute of Chemical Engineering (AIChE), International Zeolite Association (IZA), Facility of Adsorbent Testing and Characterization (FACT) at the National Institute of Standards (NIST, USA), International Adsorption Society (IAS), International Standard Organization (ISO). Matthias Thommes’ work involves investigating the effects of confinement on the adsorption-, phase- and wetting behavior of fluids in nanopores and developing novel methodologies (e.g., by combining techniques such as advanced adsorption methods, liquid intrusion, NMR relaxometry) for a targeted porous material characterization. Another focus is fundamental research in the area of gas and energy storage. His research forms a link between the adsorption properties of adsorbents and their characteristics with the development of nanoporous materials and their use in various applications and processes He has received numerous recognitions for his work, among them the induction as a Fellow of the International Adsorption Society (IAS) in 2021, a dedicated Honorary Session on October 28th in San Diego (USA) at the 2024 AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Area 2e Separation Division) Annual Meeting and most recently (2025) the extension of an Honorary/Visiting Professorship position at the University of Edinburgh (UK)