Ralf Drautz is the director of the Department for Atomistic Modelling and Simulation at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Advanced Materials Simulation (ICAMS) and a professor in the Department for Physics and Astronomy at RUB. Ralf Drautz is the director of the Department for Atomistic Modelling and Simulation at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Advanced Materials Simulation (ICAMS) and a professor in the Department for Physics and Astronomy at RUB. Ralf develops quantum-accurate interatomic potentials that are derived from density functional theory. The potentials are employed in atomistic simulations for predicting structural stability and mechanical, kinetic and thermodynamic properties of materials. Automated workflows together with high-throughput density functional theory calculations are used to explore chemical phase space, which in combination with statistical machine learning forms the basis for computational materials design. Ralf obtained his Ph.D. at the Max-Planck-Institute for metals research and the University of Stuttgart. Before coming to Bochum Ralf worked at the University of Oxford, where he still contributes to teaching as a visiting professor.