Melanie Schnell

Melanie Schnell is a Professor of Physical Chemistry at Kiel University and Lead Scientist at DESY, heading the "Spectroscopy of Molecular Processes" research group. Her work focuses on understanding and controlling molecular-level chemical processes through advanced spectroscopic techniques, with primary applications in structure determination and molecular dynamics.

She earned her doctorate in Physical Chemistry from the University of Hanover (2002-2004) following undergraduate studies in Chemistry at the University of Hanover and University of Bonn (1997-2002). Her academic trajectory includes research group leadership at the Fritz Haber Institute (2006-2010), Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (2010-2017), and habilitation at Leibniz University Hannover (2014).

Dr. Schnell's research pioneers broadband rotational spectroscopy using chirped microwave pulses, enabling unprecedented analysis of chiral molecule enantiomers and mixtures. Her group simultaneously investigates astrochemical processes in interstellar environments through photophysics studies of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using DESY's FLASH free-electron laser, bridging fundamental molecular science with cosmic chemistry.

She actively contributes to the chemical sciences community through memberships in the Society of German Chemists (GDCh) and Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry, while serving on editorial boards for the Journal of Physical Chemistry and Molecular Physics.