Wilhelm Barthlott

Wilhelm Barthlott (born 1946 in Forst, Germany) is a German botanist and bionics/biomimetics expert. His official botanical author citation is “Barthlott”.

Barthlott’s areas of specialization are research in biodiversity (Global distribution, assessment, and change in biodiversity) and Bionics/Biomimetics (biological surfaces and their biomimetic technical applications).

He is one of the pioneers in the field of biological and technical interfaces. Based on his systematic research on plant surfaces, he developed self-cleaning (Lotus Effect®) technical surfaces and technical surfaces which permanently retain air under water (Salvinia® Effect). This led to a paradigm shift in particular areas of materials science and facilitated the development of superhydrophobic biomimetic surfaces. His map of the global biodiversity distribution is the foundation for numerous research topics. Barthlott has been honored with various awards and prizes, e. g. the German Environment Award (Deutscher Umweltpreis).

Wilhelm Barthlott studied biology, physics, chemistry, and geography at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. He earned his doctorate in 1973 with a dissertation subject based on systematics and biogeography of epiphytic cacti investigated via the scanning electron method. He was appointed a professorship at the Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin) at the Institute for Systematic Botany and Plant Geography from 1982 to 1985. In 1985 he became the chair of systematic botany at the Botanical Institute and also director of the Botanical Gardens of the University of Bonn In 2003 he established the Nees Institute for Biodiversity of Plants as founding director. He was influential in the reorganization and expansion of both institutions.

Barthlott became emeritus in 2011, and continued as the head of a long-run research project “Biodiversität im Wandel” (“Biodiversity in Change”) until 2015, of the Academy of Sciences and Literature of Mainz. He co-founded with Walter Erdelen (UNESCO) the Biodiversity Network in Bonn BION in 2011, which was implemented by Wilhelm Barthlott and his successor Maximilian Weigend in 2013. He is investigating biological and technical superhydrophobic interface within the scope of his research projects (e.g. the BMBF joint research project ARES).

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