Hans Jakob Wörner

Prof. Dr. Hans Jakob Wörner is a Full Professor of Physical Chemistry and Head of the Laboratory of Physical Chemistry at ETH Zürich's Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences. His research focuses on ultra-fast molecular spectroscopy with attosecond resolution (10^-18 s), aiming to characterize molecular valence shell dynamics through novel experimental methods. He leads the Atto Group, developing attosecond X-ray and laser spectroscopy techniques for studying electron and nuclear dynamics in liquids, clusters, and gases.

• Education: BSc (2003) and PhD (2007) in Physical Chemistry from ETH Zürich.
• Postdoctoral Work: Laboratoire Aimé Cotton (France) and National Research Council (Canada).
• Roles: Full Professor since 2013, ERC Consolidator Grant recipient (2017), and numerous international awards including the Coblentz Award (2018).

Research interests include attosecond electron dynamics in molecules, liquids, and clusters; X-ray transient absorption spectroscopy; and intermolecular Coulombic decay in liquids. His lab pioneered attosecond techniques for imaging electron wave packets and studying conical intersection dynamics in aqueous systems.

Awards:

• New Horizon Lectureship (2020)
• Coblentz Award (2018)
• ERC Consolidator Grant (2017)
• Carus Medal (2015)
• Young Academy Membership (2013)

Lab & Collaborations: The Laboratory of Physical Chemistry at ETH Zürich focuses on ultrafast dynamics with state-of-the-art attosecond sources and liquid-jet technologies. Current projects explore proton transfer in aqueous solutions and Jahn-Teller effects in molecular cations.