Hannes’ research at the University of Warwick is situated at the interface of organic synthesis and polymer chemistry. He focuses on the development of light- and temperature-responsive chemical building blocks that can be incorporated into polymer materials in order to make them more sustainable. He is particularly devising new conceptual approaches to form, break and reform the chemical bonds that make up many of our daily life plastics, thereby aiding their (re)processing and recycling.

Hannes was awarded a dual PhD degree in Chemistry from Ghent University, Belgium and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany (summa cum laude) working on the development of bonding-debonding crosslinking strategies. Following alternating research stays in Belgium, Germany and Australia, he became fascinated about how light is capable of altering the chemical nature of small organic molecules, which in turn can change a material's macroscopic properties such as its strength and colour. As a postdoctoral fellow at Ghent University, he has created new photoresists for 3D laser printing and has been involved in industrial projects in the area of recyclable thermosets, on-demand curable coatings and de-bondable adhesives.