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Many of the big challenges in modern chemistry involve developing new ways to convert chemicals into usable energy. When certain forces, like light, electricity, or magnetism, act on the meeting points (interfaces) of different materials, they can cause the movement of tiny particles (electrons) and their properties (charge and spin). This movement creates and breaks the chemical bonds within those materials more selectively than using high heat or pressure. This principle is applied in photoelectrocatalysis, battery technology, photovoltaics and fuel cells – all of which are key technologies for transitioning to sustainable energy and materials production. Photoelectrocatalytic technologies are still in their infancy, in many cases due to fundamental gaps in our understanding of how light, electricity, and atoms interact at interfaces on a very small scale. This limits our ability to develop better catalysts and more efficient reactions. Dr Maurer’s research group tackles this challenge using computer simulations to predict how different materials behave and react when combined. Their computational predictions are revealing new mechanisms at play, ultimately leading to the design of new experiments and even better clean energy solutions.

Biography

Dr Reinhard Maurer is Professor of Computational ¾ÅÖÝÓ°Ôº and Physics at the University of Warwick. He completed a five-year degree in computational chemistry at the University of Graz (Austria). His PhD research in theoretical chemistry at the Technical University Munich (Germany) focused on the quantum mechanical simulation of molecular switches at surfaces. He graduated summa cum laude in 2014 and moved to Yale University where he worked with Professor John C Tully to develop nonadiabatic dynamics simulation methods to study chemical reaction dynamics at metal surfaces. In 2016, Dr Maurer received the Presidential Award of the Technical University Munich for his early research accomplishments. In 2017, he was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick. Dr Maurer’s independent research focuses on the theory and simulation of structure, reactivity, and spectroscopy of hybrid organic-inorganic interfaces. He develops methods that combine electronic structure theory, molecular simulation, and machine learning to tackle problems in surface chemistry, photocatalysis, and nanotechnology. He currently holds a Future Leaders Fellowship and an ERC Starting Grant to study light-driven ultrafast dynamics at surfaces. Since 2021, he has served as an elected member of the ¾ÅÖÝӰԺ’s Faraday Community Council. In 2022, he was promoted to an individual professorial chair hosted jointly between chemistry and physics at the University of Warwick. This reflects the multidisciplinary nature of his research and teaching efforts.