Kai-Uwe Hinrichs is a German biogeochemist and organic geochemist known for his research of microbial life below the ocean bed – the deep biosphere.
He earned his PhD in organic geochemistry from University of Oldenburg in Germany in 1997.[1] He teaches and conducts research at University of Bremen as head, Organic Chemistry Group at the MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences.[1] Hinrichs was co-chief scientist of Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) Expedition 337 on board the drilling vessel Chikyū, which set a world record for scientific drilling, reaching 2,111 meters below the seafloor off Shimokita Peninsula of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean.[2] Hinrichs serves on the Executive Committee of the Deep Carbon Observatory. Since 2011, Hinrichs has been a member of the Board of Reviewing Editors of Science.[3]
In 2011, Hinrichs was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.[4] Hinrichs is also a two-times recipient of the Advanced Grant by the European Research Council (DARCLIFE project, 2009 competition;[5] ZooMecular project, 2014 competition[6]).