Katja Schmeide

Dr. Katja Schmeide is a senior researcher at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), specifically within the Institute of Resource Ecology and its Department of Actinide Thermodynamics. With a career spanning three decades, she specializes in actinide chemistry, focusing on redox reactions, complexation with organic ligands, and retention mechanisms in geological systems. Her work has direct applications in nuclear waste disposal safety assessments.

• Education: PhD in Chemistry (1995) from Technische Universität Dresden/Clausthal; MBA (1996) from City University of Seattle

Her research explores actinide interactions with natural organic matter (humic/fulvic acids), redox-active minerals, and synthetic calixarene extraction agents. She investigates retention of uranium, neptunium, plutonium, and technetium on repository-relevant materials like clay rock, bentonite, and cementitious phases under evolving geochemical conditions.

Key projects include RAMPEC (radionuclide mobility under perturbed conditions), GRaZ II (cement alteration phase interactions), CORI (actinide-organic-cement interactions), SE-FLECX (calixarene-based extraction agents), and long-term studies on actinide migration in saline systems and crystalline rock environments.

Dr. Schmeide employs advanced techniques including TRLFS, EXAFS, NMR, and ATR FT-IR spectroscopy to characterize actinide speciation. She leads experimental campaigns on sorption/diffusion behavior and contributes to international collaborations with organizations like the European Commission and BMBF.