Dirk Zahn

Dirk Zahn serves as Professor for Theoretical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) since February 2010, leading the Zahn Research Group focused on computational modeling of chemical systems.

His academic foundation includes:

• Physics studies at Darmstadt University (1991-1997)
• Diploma thesis on molecular dynamics of biomembranes (1995-1997)
• PhD in physical chemistry from TU Darmstadt (1997-2000) investigating proton transport
• Habilitation at TU Dresden (2006) on reaction mechanisms and phase transitions

Zahn's research integrates computational methods to model complex phenomena including biomembrane dynamics, proton conduction pathways, crystallization processes, and nanoscale material behavior. His work employs molecular dynamics simulations to decode molecular-level mechanisms across chemistry and materials science disciplines.

He received the prestigious Heisenberg Fellowship (2008-2010) and held visiting professorships at Koc University (Istanbul) and Universita di Cagliari.

Prof. Zahn teaches core courses including Atom and Quantum Mechanics, Molecular Modelling, Computational Molecular Chemistry, and Computational Nanoscience across B.Sc and M.Sc programs, utilizing FAU's StudOn platform for materials distribution.