Professor Reinhard Maurer - 2024 Faraday early career Prize: Marlow Prize winner

Professor Reinhard Maurer MRSC

Winner: 2024 Faraday early career prize: Marlow Prize

University of Warwick

For contributions to the fundamental understanding of molecular structure and chemical dynamics at hybrid organic-inorganic interfaces through the development of computational simulation methods.

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Most modern scientific challenges cannot be tackled by a single person who is an expert in a single field. By working together, we can have more impact. Discussing and solving hard problems with others is the best part of science.

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.

Read winner biography

Dr Reinhard Maurer is Professor of Computational Chemistry 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 萝莉社’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.

Q&A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

When I was seven, I watched the movie Back to the Future for the first time. From that point onwards, I wanted to be a scientist. I didn’t quite know what it meant to be a scientist, but I knew it meant passionately working on interesting and unusual problems. Later came my interest in computers and then my passion for chemistry in school. Now, I happily inhabit the strange space that sits in between all those things.

Can you tell us about a scientific development on the horizon that you are excited about?

I am excited about recent progress in experimentation. The time and space resolution of experiments is improving at a rapid pace with new facilities coming online (fourth generation synchrotrons, free electron laser facilities, ultrafast spectroscopy, atomic resolution TEM). This motivates the development of new theory and simulation capabilities to understand the motion of electrons and atoms at the scale of femtoseconds and nanometers.

What has been a highlight for you (either personally or in your career)?

Being able to play a supporting role in the academic and career progression of others continues to be a highlight of the job. I studied chemistry because my main interest was research. At the time, I would not have thought how rewarding the teamwork and mentorship aspect of academic research can be.

Why do you think collaboration and teamwork are important in science?

What is your favourite element?

I am a big fan of transition metal elements. They make ions in solution, minerals, magnets, catalysts, wires and electrodes. Depending on their oxidation state and bonding partners, they can engage in metallic, ionic and covalent chemical bonds. I have spent most of my time studying chemistry at coinage metal surfaces (Cu, Ag, Au).