Hans Christian Öttinger

ETH Zürich

Theoretical Physicist

Awarded Bingham Medal 2008

Fellow, Elected 2015

Hans Christian Öttinger obtained a diploma in quantum field theory at the University of Freiburg in Germany in 1981. He then earned a Ph.D. in Physics in 1983 and completed his Habilitation in Theoretical Physics in 1988 under the direction of Professor J. Honerkamp. His work in the field of rheology began in 1986 while a post-doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison working under the guidance of Professor R.B. Bird (1974 Bingham Medalist). Öttinger moved to ETH Zürich in 1989 as a researcher in the Polymer Physics Group of Professor Joachim Meissner. After Meissner’s retirement in 1996, Hans Christian became Professor of Polymer Physics. During his tenure at ETH, Hans Christian has held the position of Head of the Institute of Polymers and Chairman of the Department of Materials.

Öttinger’s research within the field of complex fluids can be broadly grouped into two areas: kinetic theory & stochastic simulation techniques, and non-equilibrium thermodynamics. His first contributions involved the generalization and extension of classical theories describing systems ranging from dilute solutions to liquid crystalline polymers. His most important contributions in this area have been in the application of stochastic simulation techniques for polymeric liquids and he was the author of a seminal book on this subject: Stochastic Processes in Polymeric Fluids. In addition, Hans Christian developed a method known as Calculation Of Non-Newtonian Flow: Finite Elements and Stochastic SImulation Technique, or CONNFFESSIT. The CONNFFESSIT approach, or methods derived from these original ideas, are now widely used by computational rheologists and fluid dynamicists. Subsequently he developed (in conjunction with M. Grmela) a frame-work for non-equilibrium thermodynamics known as GENERIC (General Equation for the Non-Equilibrium Reversible-Irreversible Coupling), which has had a dramatic impact on the theoretical foundations of rheology and complex fluids. Hans Christian has continued to develop and extend the GENERIC framework, as summarized in his book Beyond Equilibrium Thermodynamics and demonstrated its applicability to a wide range of topics including the thermodynamic consistency of constitutive equations, flow-induced crystallization of molten polymers, glass-forming liquids, and coarse graining methods for simulations.

Öttinger is a member of the American, British and German Societies of Rheology, as well as the German Physical Society and Swiss Rheology Group and has been honored with the Bingham Medal of The Society of Rheology (2008) and election as a Member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (2017). More recently, his interest in nonequilibrium systems and quantum implications has led him to engage in the philosophy of science and resulted in his 2018 book A Philosophical Approach to Quantum Field Theory.