Mike Schlaich is Professor for Structural Engineering chairing the Department of Conceptual and Structural Design at Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin). He is also the Managing Director of Schlaich Bergermann und Partner, Consulting Structural Engineers, Germany.

He studied civil engineering at the University of Stuttgart and ETH Zurich, and received PhD in civil engineering from ETH Zurich in 1989.

Mike Schlaich worked in Spain as a structural engineer before joining in the firm of Schlaich Bergermann and Partner in Stuttgart which specializes in lightweight and long-span structures. He became Managing Director of the firm in 2002, which has been active in the field of renewable energies for more than 20 years. Systems for solar thermal energy production including dish-stirling concentrators, trough collectors and the solar updraft tower were successfully developed by the office.

His research at TU Berlin concentrates upon active and movable lightweight structures that can adapt to changing boundary conditions. An “intelligent” bridge with damping by artificial muscles or experimental structures that fold away when not needed was built at the TU Berlin lab.

Mike Schlaich is the winner of the German Bridge Design Award (Deutscher Brückenbaupreis) in 2010.

He is a member of the Global Holcim Awards 2012 Innovation prize and Holcim Awards 2011 Acknowledgement prize for Europe for "Low-cost apartments incorporating smart materials" in Hamburg, Germany.