Rate My Professor Katrien Bernaerts

Katrien Bernaerts is a Full Professor in Sustainable Polymer Synthesis at the Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM), Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University, appointed effective February 1, 2026. She earned her PhD in Chemistry from Ghent University in 2006 with a thesis on advanced polymer architectures with stimuli-responsive properties. She also holds a Master's degree in Chemistry from Ghent University (2000) and a Bachelor's degree from Hasselt University (1998), both with great distinction. In 2015, she obtained her Universal Teaching Qualification from Maastricht University. Before academia, she accumulated extensive industry experience, including positions at Agfa Graphics (2005-2008), Teijin Aramid (2008-2010), DSM (2010-2012), and Umicore (2012). At Maastricht University, she progressed from Assistant Professor in Biobased Materials and Polymer Chemistry (2012-2018) to Associate Professor in Sustainable Polymer Chemistry (2018 onwards).

Professor Bernaerts' research centers on the design and synthesis of sustainable polymer materials featuring tunable properties to advance the circular economy. Her work emphasizes biobased building blocks over fossil-based ones, green polymerization and processing routes, and chemical recycling strategies including biodegradability, depolymerization, and dynamic covalent bonds. She explores structure-property relationships in applications such as stimuli-responsive polymers, coatings, fibers, engineering plastics, and biomedical materials. Increasingly, she integrates artificial intelligence to enhance data analysis and predict polymer behaviors. Notable publications include "Dual/heterofunctional initiators for the combination of mechanistically distinct polymerization techniques" (Progress in Polymer Science, 2006; 228 citations), "Well-defined (Co)polymers with 5-vinyltetrazole units via combination of atom transfer radical (Co)polymerization of acrylonitrile and 'click chemistry'-type…" (Macromolecules, 2004; 227 citations), and "Elastic materials for tissue engineering applications: Natural, synthetic, and hybrid polymers" (Acta Biomaterialia, 2018; 217 citations). Recent contributions cover catalyst-free recycling of polyurethanes and renewable polyester amides (2026). Her scholarship has garnered over 3,200 citations, impacting sustainable polymer chemistry profoundly.