Gerhard Ertl (born 10 October 1936, Stuttgart) - German physicist and Professor Emeritus at the Department of Physical Chemistry, Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (1986—2004), the winner of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1998), winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2007.

From 1955 to 1957 he studied at the Technical University of Stuttgart, then at the University of Paris (1957-1958) and the University of Munich Ludwig Maximilian (1958-1959). After completing his PhD, he became an assistant and lecturer at the Technical University of Munich (1965–1968). From 1968 to 1973, he was Professor and Director at the Technical University of Hannover. Then, he became a Professor at the Institute for Physical Chemistry, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (1973–1986). During the 1970s and 80s, he was also a Visiting Professor at the California Institute of Technology, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and the University of California, Berkeley. In 1986 he became professor at the Free University of Berlin and at the Technical University of Berlin. He was director at the Fritz Haber Institute of the MPG from 1986 till his retirement in 2004. He became a professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin in 1996.

"I have no experience in taking drugs, but I think that drug abuse is very dangerous and that all people must fight against it, together".