Ralf Takors holds a diploma of process engineering (1993) and a Dr. degree in Biochemical Engineering (1997). Between 1997 and 2004 he was heading the ‘fermentation’ group at Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH (Germany) and achieved the Habilitation degree of ‘Metabolic Engineering’ in 09/2004 at RWTH Aachen. From 10/2004 until 06/2009 Ralf joined Evonik Degussa GmbH and headed the department of bioprocess development. Since 07/2009 Ralf leads the Institute of Biochemical Engineering (IBVT) at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. In 2001, he received the Young Professorship Award of DECHEMA e.V. (Germany) and in 2021 he was elected to acatech, the National Academy of Science and Engineering. From 2014 until 2024 he headed the German Biochemical Engineering Section at DECHEMA e.V. He is lecturer of multiple courses in- and outside the University of Stuttgart and reviewer of various journals and panels.