Eric Jan Mittemeijer studied chemical technology (specialized in physical chemistry) at the Delft University of Technology (DUT), acquired his “ingenieur (= Ir.)” degree (comparable to a M.Sc. degree) in 1972 and his Ph.D. degree in 1978. From 1985 till 1998 he was full Professor of Solid State Chemistry at the Delft University of Technology. From 1998 to 2017 he served as Director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (formerly: Max Planck Institute for Metals Research) in conjunction with a full Professorship of Materials Science at the University of Stuttgart.Professor Mittemeijer founded and led the department Phase Transformations at the Max Plank Institute for Intelligent Systems from 1998 until his retirement. The department's work includes cutting-edge application of X-ray diffraction analysis, (transmission) electron microscopy, scanning Auger microscopy and X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy, ellipsometry, calorimetry and dilatometry.His areas of special interest are:phase transformations, (interface) thermodynamics and kinetics;nanomaterials and their unusual properties;stress and phase transformations in (very) thin (multi)layers;nitriding and nitrocarburizing of iron, iron alloys and steels; andoxidation of metals and alloys.He has published more than 700 papers in international scientific journals and a number of books and has received a number of honours for his scientific work. He has served on the editorial board of several journals and as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Materials Research. He is a leading member of a number of national and international societies in his fields of interest: e.g. Fellow of the American Society of Materials (ASM), Honorary Member of the German Society for Materials Science and Engineering, co-founder and past president of the Dutch/Belgian Heat TreatmentSociety and a co-founder and past president of the (Dutch) Society of Metals.He has served for more than 10 years as the Dean of the Study Course Materials Science at the University of Stuttgart. Lastly, he founded and has been Speaker of the International Max Planck Research School on Advanced Materials (IMPRS-AM) for more than 12 years.
