Second Keynote Speaker Announced: Dr Bernd Noecker, Director of Basic Research & Technology Development at Kao Germany
- TRI Princeton
- 3 minutes ago
- 2 min read
We are excited to announce our second keynote speaker for the 12th TRI International Conference on Applied Hair Science. Bernd Noecker, Director of Basic Research & Technology Development at KAO Germany will give a presentation titled ‘The molecular structure of Keratin Intermediate Filaments and its impact on Hookean and Yield regions of the stress-strain curve’. Our Conference will take place on Tuesday 2nd to Thursday 4th June 2026, at the Oyster Point Hotel, Red Bank, New Jersey.
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Bernd earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Dortmund in the area of Solid-State Chemistry in 1991. Since then, he has been working for Kao Europe Research Laboratories at Kao Germany GmbH in various functions of Product Development for Hair Care, Hair Color and Hair Shape. Between 2007 and 2010 he moved to Tokyo to lead the Fundamental Hair Research Group at Kao R&D in Japan. After coming back to Germany, he became the Director of Basic Research & Technology Development. He has filed over 100 patents in the area of hair care, has published more than 20 papers and book-chapters in the field of hair structure, and he is a regular presenter at International Hair Science conferences.
Abstract
Human hair keratins belong to the class of Intermediate Filament Proteins and represent the key structural components of hair fibers. The fundamental building unit is a Keratin Intermediate Filament Dimer, composed of one acidic and one basic keratin molecule, both adopting an alpha-helical conformation. The alpha-helix is stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen bonds, while the dimer itself is held together by a hydrophobic core and ionic interactions between oppositely charged amino acid residues. Upon stretching the hair by approximately 2%, these hydrogen bonds are elongated, resulting in a nearly linear relationship between strain and applied force—commonly referred to as the Hookean region of the stress-strain curve. This initial elastic response is characteristic of many materials and will be discussed from a materials science perspective. Further elongation leads to structural transitions, including unravelling and most probably unwinding of coiled-coil filaments and a transformation from alpha-helical to beta-sheet structures, occurring in the yield region of the curve. The influence of various chemical treatments that cause hair damage will be analyzed with respect to their impact on the Hookean region. Comparative data from Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) will also be presented to support these findings.
