Oliver Thum
Oliver Thum is a part time full professor for Biocatalysis at TU Delft and, in addition, Head of the Global Applied Technology at the Business Line “Interface&Performance” of the German chemical company “Evonik”. He holds a diploma (~ M.Sc.) in chemistry and a doctoral degree in organic chemistry & pharmacology of the University of Bonn, Germany. For more than 20 years he is working in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry. At Evonik he initially focused on the development of enzymatic production processes, especially for the synthesis of cosmetic ingredients. He developed several new products and optimized processes, including the development of novel reactor concepts, enzyme immobilization techniques and environmental life cycle assessments (LCA). Later he had leading roles in the R&D team to develop and scale-up the production of biosurfactants, i. e. microbially produced surfactants, such as Rhamnolipids and Sophorolipids. Today he is responsible for the global Applied Technology and Technical Service of more than 1000 specialty products within one of Evonik’s Business Lines.
He co-authored >40 peer reviewed research articles and book chapters (h-Index ~21), holds > 30 patents and patent applications, gave > 30 invited conference lectures and won several innovation awards. He successfully applied for several public-funded projects in joint projects with Universities throughout Europe. For many years he serves the European Commission and other national funding agencies as expert evaluator in the field of industrial biotechnology and related areas. In 2011 he was part of the WBCSD’s (World Business Council on Sustainable Development) Leadership program.
At TU Delft he supports the ongoing research activities of the biocatalysis group by providing insights on potential application and industrial needs. His teaching activities include the Design Course in the MSc Life Science and Technology program, lectures on advanced biocatalysis and - starting in 2024 - Microbial Biotechnology in Practice (LB2791-p).
Researcher ID: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/F-2201-2010
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2568-1450
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/prof-dr-oliver-thum-b4518814
Teaching at TU Delft:
Design Course (LM3822)
