Kurt Kremer has made exceptional contributions to the microscopic simulation of polymers, setting the standards for using numerical simulation to probe conceptual issues in polymer physics and establishing it as an indispensable tool in materials science. His work has played a pivotal role to establish numerical simulation of polymers as a tool on an equal footing with experiment and theory.

Kurt Kremer has excelled in the development and exploitation of minimal computational models that retain the essential properties of physical systems. He developed the two most widely used models for computer simulations of generic polymer properties: the Kremer-Grest bead-spring model and the Bond Fluctuation Model. These versatile models have proven extremely valuable in the investigation of static and dynamic properties of polymers and to obtain insights into their emergent properties on the mesoscale.

He has also developed multi-scale methods and pioneered the application of systematic coarse-graining and backmapping techniques for the quantitative prediction of soft-matter material properties, as well as   establishing them as a quantitative tool in polymer physics and materials science with direct industrial relevance. These multiscale methods have evolved far beyond the computational aspects into a framework to explore innovative theoretical concepts in statistical mechanics.

Kurt Kremer’s remarkable combination of intuition, technical expertise, creativity and vision has led to fundamental new insights into the behavior of soft matter, with contributions extending, among others, to the investigation of polymer networks, polymer rheology, polyelectrolytes, membranes, and organic semiconductors.