Jürgen Popp studied chemistry at the Universities of Erlangen and Würzburg. After receiving his PhD in chemistry, he went to Yale University for postdoctoral work. He then returned to the University of Würzburg where he habilitated in 2002. Since 2002, he has held a chair in physical chemistry at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena. Since 2006 he is also the scientific director of the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Jena. His research interests focus on biophotonics. Professor Popp has received numerous awards for his research, including the prestigious Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award in 2016. In 2023, Jürgen Popp received an honorary doctorate from the University at Albany – State University of New York (USA) and the Charles Mann Award from the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS).