Professor Fritz Vollrath

Non-Executive Director

World-renowned Oxford biomaterials scientist, inventor and serial spin-out founder pioneering the translation of naturally inspired materials into commercial technologies.

Professor Fritz Vollrath is a Non-Executive Director of Bounce Biomedical and one of the world’s leading authorities on biological materials and biomimetic science. He is Director of the Oxford Silk Group within the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford and has spent more than four decades pioneering research into the structure, function and engineering of natural materials.

Professor Vollrath has held academic appointments and research positions at leading institutions across Europe and the Americas, including the Universities of Oxford, Freiburg, Basel and Aarhus, as well as the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. His internationally recognised research has been supported by major funding awards, including a prestigious Advanced Grant from the European Research Council, and has resulted in publications in many of the world’s leading scientific journals, including multiple papers in Nature.

His research has transformed understanding of spider silk, biological composites and natural structural materials, revealing fundamental relationships between material architecture, mechanical performance and biological function. Through his pioneering studies into silk protein structure, he has helped establish new fields of biomaterials research and inspired the development of advanced synthetic and bioinspired materials.

Professor Vollrath also has extensive experience in scientific innovation and commercialisation. His research has contributed to the formation of multiple technology ventures and Oxford University spin-out companies, including Orthox, Newrotex, Oxford Biomaterials and INOArmor, helping translate fundamental discoveries into commercially valuable technologies. His work has influenced applications across advanced materials, biotechnology, healthcare and regenerative medicine which helps guide our research and development programmes.