Matthias Bickelhaupt

Prof. Matthias Bickelhaupt is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), and holds a concurrent position at AIMMS. He also serves as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg and as a Bijzonder Hoogleraar (Extraordinary Professor) at Radboud University. His roles include editorial board memberships with journals like J. Comput. Chem. and Chemistry - An Asian Journal. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and a Chemistry Europe Fellow.

His research focuses on computational chemistry, theoretical studies of reaction mechanisms, and catalytic processes. Key areas include density functional theory (DFT), molecular orbital analysis, and the design of catalysts using computational methods. He has contributed significantly to understanding organocatalyzed reactions, transition metal-catalyzed bond activations, and the stability of chemical bonds through ab initio and DFT benchmarking.

Prof. Bickelhaupt’s recent work highlights advancements in computational tools like the Amsterdam Modeling Suite, structural stability analysis of organodichalcogenides, and mechanistic insights into Diels-Alder reactions and iron-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. His contributions have been recognized through prestigious fellowships and editorial leadership roles in top chemistry journals.

He supervises 33 PhD theses and actively contributes to academic activities, including lectures on advanced computational chemistry and molecular orbital theory. His datasets and software contributions further support the broader scientific community in computational chemistry and materials science.