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Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate researchers regularly join my group. Please see here for a detailed description and discussion. Also, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Graduate Students (M.Sc., Ph.D.)

Some time ago, I have published a little blog post entitled "So you want to join my research group"(on LinkedIn), written especially for international applicants who might be contemplating contacting me regarding potential open positions. I would encourage prospective students to have a look.

I am not actively looking for graduate students right now. However, I would take and review applications at this time.

In general terms, students who have completed or are about to complete a B.Sc., M.Sc. or equivalent in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics or related fields are welcome to contact me at any time − especially if partial or full external funding is available. Candidates qualifying for fellowships from external funding sources such as NSERC are particularly encouraged to contact me directly.

Currently or recently, my group is/ has been working on the following research projects and programs (see also elsewhere on these webpages or contact me for more details):
  1. Theoretical actinide molecular science: We are interested in the chemistry of the actinides such as Ac, Th, U, Np, Pu and the rest of the actinide series with a focus on their environmental chemistry, as well as bonding, chelation, and so on. Current projects concern e.g. aqueous species, macrocycle inclusion complexes, bonding analysis, organometallic chemistry, periodic trends, or adsorption and reactions on mineral surfaces and 2D materials. See paper A43 (Acc. Chem. Res. 43 (2010), 19−29) for an overview of our earlier work in this area.
  2. Materials: We model materials at an atomistic level. Currently or recently, we have worked on (i) conducting polymers, and (ii) 2-dimensional (2D) materials. The field of 2D materials is expected to be further expanded in the near future.
  3. Solar energy: (i) We are using the tools of computational chemistry to understand fundamental aspects of "dye-sensitized solar cells" (DSSC), specifically the role of the dye (often a Ru complex) and of the I-/I3- redox couple. (ii) We search for new "singlet fission" materials. Typically, these are relatively large conjugated organic compounds. (iii) We are interested in polymer-based photovolataics. (iv) We have also modelled water-splitting reactions catalyzed by transition metal and uranium complexes.
  4. Method and code development aiming at (i) novel solvation models and (ii) high-throughput computational tools for the prescreening of DSSC dyes. Other development projects may be possible, for instance for surface modeling. Our development work is usually done within the environment of the ADF suite of programs.
  5. Environmental (aqueous/ surface) chemistry of heavy elements such as mercury, thorium and uranium. Two examples are interaction of aqueous U with a mineral surface or thermodynamic properties of HgS. A recent extension aims at determining thermodynamic parameters of crude oil components.
  6. Metal-protein interactions.
(All of this work is computational/theoretical in nature.)

Writing to me please indicate which project(s) might be of interest to you and why. Moreover, please provide a detailed CV, list of publications (if available), the names and contact details of referees, unofficial transcripts or a list of courses and grades, as well as a statement on your English language ability in case English is not your first language.
Admission into our graduate program is the joined responsibility of the Department of Chemistry and the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Please see the Departmental Webpages for details regarding the graduate program and admission requirements.

Postdocs

I am not actively looking for new postdocs right now, and I do not have any extra funding to do so. However, in general terms, interested persons with an excellent publication record and a strong background in quantum chemistry, quantum-chemical program development, or inorganic chemistry may contact me at any time − especially if partial or full external funding is available. Candidates qualifying for fellowships from external funding sources such as NSERC are particularly encouraged to contact me directly.

General

Some time ago, I have published a little blog post entitled "So you want to join my research group"(on LinkedIn), written especially for international applicants who might be contemplating contacting me regarding potential open positions. I would encourage prospective students to have a look.



Last update: July 30, 2021
Send email to: Georg Schreckenbach

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