Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim
Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim is a German chemist, science communicator and author who brings research into everyday life through MAITHINK X, Terra X documentaries and books for adults and children.
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Latest
Mai Thi’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus her backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
- MAITHINK X: Die Show2021–present · Host and writer
ZDFneo - maiLab: Corona geht gerade erst los2020 · Creator and presenter
funk - Komisch, alles chemisch!2019 · Author
Droemer - Die kleinste gemeinsame Wirklichkeit2021 · Author
Droemer - BiBiBiber: Warum muss ich schlafen?2025 · Co-author with Marie Meimberg
Oetinger - Chemie des Kochens2025–2026 · Presenter
Terra X
Overview
- Born
- 7 August 1987, Heppenheim, Germany
- Grew up
- Hemsbach, with Vietnamese parents
- Training
- Chemistry doctorate, University of Potsdam, 2017
- First channel
- The Secret Life of Scientists, launched in 2015
- Breakout
- maiLab’s 2020 video “Corona geht gerade erst los”
- On screen
- Host and writer of MAITHINK X: Die Show since 2021
Mini bio
How it started.
Mai grew up in Hemsbach and studied chemistry in Mainz and at MIT. Her doctoral research took her to Aachen, Harvard and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research before she earned her doctorate in Potsdam in 2017. While still a doctoral student, she competed in science slams and began The Secret Life of Scientists on YouTube in 2015.
Finding her audience.
Her German-language science channel began as schönschlau in 2016 and became maiLab in 2018. A defining moment came in April 2020 with “Corona geht gerade erst los”, an explanation of pandemic control that reached millions. Her accessible coronavirus reporting across maiLab and Quarks earned a 2021 Grimme Prize for special journalistic achievement.
From the lab to the living room.
Since 2021, Mai has hosted and written for MAITHINK X: Die Show, working with a science editorial team to unpack research and public debates. Her books bring the same curiosity to chemistry and contested claims. With Marie Meimberg, she also writes the BiBiBiber science books for children. Her Terra X series Chemie des Kochens brings together two interests she loves: chemistry and cooking.
Creditschronological, newest first
Television and online
- 2025–2026Terra X: Chemie des KochensPresenter
- 2021–presentMAITHINK X: Die ShowHost and writer
- 2020Corona geht gerade erst losmaiLab creator and presenter
Books
- 2025BiBiBiber hat da mal ’ne Frage. Warum muss ich schlafen?Co-author with Marie Meimberg
- 2021Die kleinste gemeinsame WirklichkeitAuthor
- 2019Komisch, alles chemisch!Author
Awards
- Grimme Prize, 2026Awarded for hosting and scientific direction of MAITHINK X: Die Show, winner in the entertainment competition.
- Grimme Prize, 2021Special journalistic achievement for her coronavirus science communication in maiLab and Quarks.
- Federal Cross of Merit, 2020Honoured for making science understandable to a broad audience.
Quotes
Meine Küche ist auch mein Labor.Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim, ZDF interview for Chemie des Kochens
In a 2025 interview, she described her love of experimenting while cooking and baking. The quote means “My kitchen is also my laboratory.”
Trivia
- Her doctoral dissertation explored physical hydrogels based on polyurethane.
- Her father is also a chemist. She credits him with inspiring both her love of chemistry and her enthusiasm for cooking.
- In addition to co-writing the BiBiBiber sleep book, she reads on its audiobook adaptation.
Find Mai Thi
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