Alec M. Wodtke

Alec M. Wodtke is a Professor at Georg-August University Göttingen and Director of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. He holds additional appointments as a Research Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Professeur Titulaire at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. His research focuses on electronically nonadiabatic energy transfer at surfaces, surface chemistry, and energy conversion processes at atomic scales.

Education: BA in Chemistry (University of Utah, 1981); PhD in Physical Chemistry (University of California, Berkeley, 1986). Professional roles include Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCSB (2003-2009) and leadership in international research initiatives such as the ERC Advanced Grant (2017) and Synergy Grant (2024).

Research interests span molecule-surface interactions, catalysis, and the development of ultra-high vacuum techniques. Key projects include probing energy transfer mechanisms using laser spectroscopy and molecular beam scattering. His work bridges theoretical and experimental approaches to understand fundamental energy conversion processes.

Notable awards include the Gerhard Ertl Lecture Award (2022), Humboldt Professorship (2010), and ERC Advanced Grant. He has advised over 30 PhD students and 30 postdoctoral researchers, contributing to breakthroughs in surface dynamics and catalytic processes.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Dynamics at Surfaces department at the Max Planck Institute, coordinating interdisciplinary projects on surface chemistry and energy conversion. Collaborates globally through initiatives like the International Max Planck Research School for Physics of Biological and Complex Systems.