Hermann Staudinger (23 March 1881–8 September 1965) was a German chemist who demonstrated the existence of macromolecules, which he characterized as polymers. For this work he received the 1953 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He is also known for his discovery of ketenes and of the Staudinger reaction.

Hermann Staudinger was born in 1881 in Worms, Germany. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Halle in 1903, Staudinger took a position at the University of Strasbourg. It was here that he discovered the ketenes, a family of molecules characterized by the general form depicted.
In 1907, Staudinger began an assistant professorship at the Technical University of Karlsruhe.
In 1912, Staudinger took on a new position at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland.
His pioneering research has afforded the world myriad plastics, textiles, and other polymeric materials which make consumer products more affordable, attractive, and fun.