Honoring a Jena Biophotonics Expert

The University at Albany - State University of New York (SUNY Albany) in the United States has presented ACP co-director Prof. Dr. Jürgen Popp with an honorary doctorate for his outstanding achievements and significant contributions to science. The honorary doctorate was awarded in recognition of Prof. Dr. Popp's longstanding commitment to the research and development of cutting-edge optical health technology for improved diagnostics and therapy. The formal presentation of the honorary degree took place in the USA on May 13, 2023.

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Popp has held the position of Professor of Physical Chemistry II at the University of Jena since 2002 and has been the Scientific Director of the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz-IPHT) in Jena for 17 years. The chemist is internationally recognized as a leading expert in the field of optical health technology and biophotonics. He has authored more than 950 scientific publications, been involved in over 240 conference contributions, and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the "Journal of Biophotonics," which he co-founded. He has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University at Albany - State University of New York in acknowledgement of his dedication and outstanding research achievements in the exploration of new avenues in disease detection and treatment through innovative light-based tools.

The University at Albany recognized Popp's significant contributions to novel biophotonic methods of disease diagnostics based on a synergistic combination of modern spectroscopy and machine learning techniques. A particular research focus of the scientist lies in the exploration of Raman spectroscopic methods for rapid diagnosis and targeted therapy of infectious diseases, as well as for intraoperative tumor diagnostics. The obtained spectroscopic measurement data in the form of complex molecular fingerprints are analyzed and evaluated using reliable machine learning methods.

The degree granted by the University at Albany marks the second honorary doctorate bestowed upon Jürgen Popp following the recognition of his scientific achievements by Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, where Popp received an honorary doctorate in 2012.

"I am filled with great joy by the conferment of the honorary doctorate. It underscores the importance of international relationships and close collaboration with global partners, especially when it comes to significant societal goals like faster medical diagnostics or tailored treatment of diseases such as infections. In the future, our institutions will continue to maintain a close transatlantic exchange, which will significantly advance research in the field of biophotonics on both sides," stated Prof. Dr. Jürgen Popp.