Biprajit Sarkar was born in Coochbehar, India, in 1977 and attended St. Mary's School (Barpeta Road) and Cotton College (Guwahati) in the province of Assam. In 1995, he began studying chemistry, physics and mathematics at the University of Delhi and received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1999.

Biprajit Sarkar completed his master's thesis in the group of Prof. Dr. G. K. Lahiri at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India, where he graduated in August 2001.

From September 2001, Biprajit did his PhD in Prof. Dr. W. Kaim's group at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Stuttgart and received his doctorate in 2005.

After a brief period as a postdoctoral researcher at the Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France, under Prof. Dr. P. Braunstein, he began his habilitation at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Stuttgart in August 2006, which he successfully completed in 2011.

In 2012, he was finally appointed as a full professor at the Free University of Berlin.

 

Professional experience

2005-2006: Postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. P. Braunstein, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France

2006–2011: Habilitation at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Stuttgart

April 2010 – September 2010: Acting W2 professor at Georg August University in Göttingen

March 2012 - : Professorship at the Free University of Berlin

 - September 2024: Professorship at the University of Stuttgart

Since October 2024: Professorship at the Free University of Berlin

 

Awards and honours

2002 – 2005: Member of the Graduate College for Magnetic Resonance, Stuttgart

2005 – 2006: Postdoctoral fellowship, CNRS, Strasbourg

2008 - 2011: Support from the BW Foundation's Elite Programme

2014: Selected as one of the ‘Rising Stars’ at the ‘41st International Conference on Coordination Chemistry (ICCC-41)’ in Singapore.

2015: Visiting Professor at IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India

2015: "Zasshikai Lectureship", University of Tokyo, Japan

Since 2017: Deputy coordinator of the priority programme SPP 2102

 

Science Management

2018: Organisation of the 16th Ferrocene Colloquium.

Since 2017: Deputy coordinator of priority project 2102, ‘Light Controlled Reactivity of Metal Complexes’.

2017: Establishment of bilateral collaboration with TIFR Hyderabad.

2016: (Co-)organisation of the 18th Conference on Inorganic Chemistry, Wöhler Association, GDCh.

2016: Key role in the memorandum of understanding between IIT Bombay and FU Berlin to pave the way for scientific collaboration between the institutes.

2014: Representative of the Free University of Berlin at various DAAD education fairs in India.

2013: Member of the „International Advisory Board“, Satellite conference, meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry, Mexiko

2012: Collaboration with NISER Bhubaneswar.

2011: Guest editor of the “W. Kaim special issue”, Inorg. Chim. Acta.

2011: Organisation of the 7th Coordination Chemists' Meeting, Stuttgart.

 

Administrative duties

Since 2017: ERASMUS Coordinator for Chemistry.

Since 2017: Member of the Examination Board for BSc and MSc courses in Chemistry.

Since 2013: Chairman of the Library Committee.

Since 2013: Elected member of the Institute Council of the Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

2013: Member of the committee for reforming the BSc and MSc curricula in chemistry.