Dr. Sandra Luber, University of Zurich, Switzerland, has been awarded the Clara Immerwahr Award 2017 for her contributions to the development of computational methods for catalysis. The award was presented at a public ceremony at the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin), Germany, on February 10, 2017.
The annual Clara Immerwahr Award honors a young female scientist at an early stage of their career for outstanding achievements in catalysis research. The award is presented by the Cluster of Excellence UniCat (Unifying Concepts in Catalysis), TU Berlin, and includes 15,000 € of financial support for a research stay at UniCat.
Lubers’s research interests include the development and application of new computational methods for condensed phase systems, spectroscopy, and catalysis, the investigation of complex liquids and functional molecules in the gas phase and on surfaces, and the design of bio-inspired catalysts for efficient water splitting.
Sandra Luber studied chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland, where she received her Ph.D. in 2009 under the supervision of Markus Reiher. She then worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher with Mihaela Zavolan at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and with Victor S. Batista at Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. In 2012, she joined the Start-in program for young talents at BASF SE in Germany, and then became Project Group Leader in computational chemistry and materials science with Jürg Hutter at the University of Zurich, where she finished her habilitation in 2016. Among other honors, Luber has received the IBM Research Prize for Computer Modelling and Simulations in Chemistry, Biology, and Materials Science in 2007 and the ETH medal for an outstanding Ph.D. thesis in 2010.
Selected Publications
- Symmetry Breaking in Chiral Ionic Liquids Evidenced by Vibrational Optical Activity,
Patric Oulevey, Sandra Luber, Birte Varnholt, Thomas Bürgi,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 11787–11790.
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201605792 - Sum Frequency Generation of Acetonitrile on a Rutile (110) Surface from Density Functional Theory-Based Molecular Dynamics,
Sandra Luber,
J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2016, 7, 5183–5187.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.6b02530 - Computational Investigation and Design of Cobalt Aqua Complexes for Homogeneous Water Oxidation,
Mauro Schilling, Greta R. Patzke, Jürg Hutter, Sandra Luber,
J. Phys. Chem. C 2016, 120, 7966–7975.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.6b00712 - Redox-Inert Cations Enhancing Water Oxidation Activity: The Crucial Role of Flexibility,
Florian H. Hodel, Sandra Luber,
ACS Catal. 2016, 6, 6750–6761.
DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.6b01218 - Closer to Photosystem II: A Co4O4 Cubane Catalyst with Flexible Ligand Architecture,
Fabio Evangelisti, Robin Güttinger, René Moré, Sandra Luber, Greta R. Patzke,
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 18734–18737.
DOI: 10.1021/ja4098302 - S1-State Model of the O2-Evolving Complex of Photosystem II,
Sandra Luber, Ivan Rivalta, Yasufumi Umena, Keisuke Kawakami, Jian-Ren Shen, Nobuo Kamiya, Gary W. Brudvig, Victor S. Batista,
Biochemistry 2011, 50, 6308–6311.
DOI: 10.1021/bi200681q - Structural–Functional Role of Chloride in Photosystem II,
Ivan Rivalta, Muhamed Amin, Sandra Luber, Serguei Vassiliev, Ravi Pokhrel, Yasufumi Umena, Keisuke Kawakami, Jian-Ren Shen, Nobuo Kamiya, Doug Bruce, Gary W. Brudvig, M. R. Gunner, Victor S. Batista,
Biochemistry 2011, 50, 6312–6315.
DOI: 10.1021/bi200685w - Understanding the Signatures of Secondary-Structure Elements in Proteins with Raman Optical Activity Spectroscopy,
Christoph R. Jacob, Sandra Luber, Markus Reiher,
Chem. Eur. J. 2009, 15, 13491–13508.
DOI: 10.1002/chem.200901840
Also of Interest
- Clara Immerwahr Award 2016,
ChemViews Mag. 2016.
Rebecca Melen, UK, honored for outstanding achievements in catalysis research - Clara Immerwahr Award 2015,
ChemViews Mag. 2015.
Anna Company Casadevall, University of Girona, Spain, honored - Clara Immerwahr Award 2014,
ChemViews Mag. 2014.
Dr. Teresa Santos-Silva, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal, has been awarded for outstanding achievements in catalysis research - The Myth of Clara Immerwahr,
ChemistryViews.org 2016.
Did she take her life as a statement against chemical warfare? - 100th Anniversary: Clara Immerwahr’s Death,
ChemViews Mag. 2015.
A role model for her pursuit of science in spite of obstacles and for her strong moral convictions
