Since 2009 Prof. Wiechert is director at IBG-1 (Biotechnology) within Forschungszentrum Jülich. In 2011 he also became professor for “Computational Systems Biotechnology” at the process engineering department (AVT) of Aachen University (RWTH). He studied mathematics and computer science at the University of Bonn and got his PhD in Theoretical Biology in 1990. From 1991-1996 he was PostDoc at the former Institute of Biotechnology 2 (Forschungszentrum Jülich) and did his habilitation thesis in the field of metabolic flux analysis in 1996. 1996-2002 he held a C3-professorship and 2002-2008 a C4-professorship for “Simulation and Computer Science” in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Siegen. 2001 he declined a call to Tübingen. In 2006 he stayed as a guest professor at the Institute for Molecular Systems Biology at the ETH Zürich.
His main area of work is applied systems bio(techno)logy of microorganisms with a focus on methods for quantitative biology. Characteristics of his research work are a close integration of experimental and theoretical work in multi-disciplinary projects. Prof. Wiechert is developing methods for quantitative metabolomics, fluxomics and proteomics including model based mathematical methods for experimental design, parameter estimation, and process optimization in biotechnological systems. Within the framework of systems biology mathematical models at different levels of detail are formulated and used to integrate multi-omics data. These models are then applied to process development in industrial biotechnology. Recent developments also incorporate micro fluidic methods for single cell analysis, downscaling for higher throughput process development, and systems concepts for biotransformations in the framework of a sustainable future bioeconomy. In their final consequence, this research portfolio aims at speeding up the knowledge acquisition process for an iterative improvement of industrial production systems. In close cooperation of all working groups at IBG-1 diverse examples from industry are investigated and will be further developed.