Marie Sircoglou

Marie Sircoglou is an Associate Professor (Maîtresse de conférences) with HDR (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches) at the Institute of Molecular Chemistry and Materials of Orsay (ICMMO), part of Université Paris-Saclay. She has been a researcher at ICMMO since 2011, working in the Inorganic Chemistry team in close collaboration with Ally Aukauloo and Zakaria Halime. Her research spans both experimental and theoretical approaches to bio-inspired catalysis.

Dr. Sircoglou earned her M2 in Fine Chemistry from ENSICAEN, followed by a PhD in coordination chemistry under Didier Bourissou at Toulouse. She then completed two postdoctoral fellowships: first with Alois Fürstner at the Max Planck Institute in Mülheim, and later with Vincent Gandon at ICMMO in Orsay, where she began developing expertise in DFT calculations.

Her research focuses on leveraging metal complex chemistry inspired by enzymatic processes to develop more sustainable catalytic reactions. Key areas include computational chemistry (DFT and Hartree-Fock), artificial photosynthesis, CO₂ reduction using iron porphyrins, and dirhodium-catalyzed C-H amination reactions. She particularly investigates second coordination sphere effects that enhance catalyst efficiency and selectivity.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals a consistent focus on bio-inspired catalysis, with particular emphasis on iron porphyrin systems for CO₂ reduction and rhodium-based systems for C-N bond formation. Her work integrates experimental and computational approaches to elucidate reaction mechanisms and design improved catalysts, often featuring collaborations between multiple research groups.

Dr. Sircoglou teaches approximately 200 hours per year at the IUT d'Orsay, covering topics from atomic structure to organometallic chemistry, electrochemistry, and solid-state chemistry. She also participates in training doctoral students who commit to teaching careers.

She has secured significant research funding including two Labex grants and an ANR ALCA-N grant for her collaboration with Philippe Dauban's team at ICSN. Her laboratory work is conducted within the Inorganic Chemistry team at ICMMO, building on rich collaborations with multiple research groups both within and outside her institution.