Professor Alois K. Schlarb studied mechanical engineering at the University of Kaiserslautern, specializing in manufacturing technology and industrial organization, and received his diploma in 1984. He then moved to the University of Kassel as a research assistant to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. e. h. Ehrenstein, where he earned his doctorate in 1989 with a dissertation on a topic in plastics processing. From 1988 to 1989, he also served as a head engineer at the university’s Institute of Materials Science. Professor Schlarb then spent 13 years working in various research and management positions at internationally active industrial companies in Germany and Switzerland. In November 2002, he accepted the university professorship in “Composite Materials” at the University of Kaiserslautern (now RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau) and held this position until March 31, 2022. 

From 2003 to 2008, he concurrently served as Director (CEO) of the Institute for Composite Materials GmbH in Kaiserslautern; from 2003 to 2015, he was Chairman of SAMPE Germany e.V.; and from 2009 to 2015, he was Spokesperson for the Scientific Working Group of University Professors of Plastics Technology (WAK). Since 2018, he has been a visiting professor at Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, PR China.

Prof. Schlarb has more than 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He is also the editor, author, or co-author of several books and book chapters. His research focuses on process-structure-property relationships and the tribology of polymer-based hybrid materials.