Abhik Ghosh

Abhik Ghosh is a full Professor of Chemistry at UiT The Arctic University of Norway's Faculty of Science and Technology, where he has served since 1996 (Associate Professor until 2000, then Professor). His research spans theoretical and experimental inorganic chemistry with focus on sustainable energy applications, directing the "softmatter" research group and UiT's Center for Sustainable STEM Education.

Education:

• B. Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry, Jadavpur University, India (1987; University Medal for top rank)
• Ph.D., University of Minnesota (1992; Thesis: X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic and Ab Initio Computational Study of Substituent Effects in Tetrapyrroles)

Research Interests: Ghosh's work integrates computational chemistry (ab initio/DFT) with macrocycle synthesis to advance porphyrin/corrole science, heavy element chemistry, and X-ray spectroscopy. His group pioneers sustainable approaches in bioinorganic systems and chemical education, emphasizing fluorine chemistry and medicinal applications. Key innovations include electronic structure modeling of tetrapyrroles and synchrotron-based studies at Stanford/LBNL facilities.

Scientific Awards:

• Hans Fischer Career Award for Lifetime Achievement in Porphyrin Chemistry (2022)
• Election to Academia Europaea (2023) and European Academy of Sciences (2022)
• UiT's dual research prizes: Basic Research (2020) and R&D (2021)
• PROSE Award for textbook excellence (2015) and Royal Society of Chemistry Fellowship (2018)

Advising and Grants: Mentored 16 PhD students, 16 postdocs, and 16 master's students while directing Norway's national Center for Theoretical & Computational Chemistry (2007-2017). Secured major synchrotron access at Stanford SSRL (since 2015) and Berkeley ALS (since 2017), plus Research Council of Norway funding (2004-2010). Current leadership includes Arctic Center for Sustainable Energy (2021-) and the Oxford University Press book project Inorganic Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction (2024).

Labs and Teams: Leads the "softmatter" computational/experimental group (https://en.uit.no/project/softmatter) with active DEI initiatives (https://en.uit.no/project/susstemed/diversity-and-inclusion). Coordinates UiT's flagship Center for Sustainable STEM Education (2021-2025), integrating science communication (https://en.uit.no/project/softmatter/scicomm) with Arctic-focused educational outreach.