Michael L. Klein

Michael L. Klein is a Professor and Laura H Carnell Professor of Science at Temple University's College of Science & Technology, serving as Dean since 2012. He previously held leadership and academic roles at the University of Pennsylvania, including Director of the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (1993–2009) and Earle Hepburn Professor of Physical Science. Earlier in his career, he was a Principal Research Officer at the National Research Council (NRC) Ottawa, Canada (1984–1987) and progressed through roles at the NRC over decades.

Research interests: Klein specializes in

• Biophysics
• Computational physics
• Soft matter
• Theoretical chemistry
• Physical chemistry
• Chemical physics
• Computational chemistry

. His work focuses on computer simulation and modeling of molecular systems, particularly developing intermolecular force fields and algorithms for Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. He pioneered coarse-grain models for complex systems and advanced sampling algorithms for materials research, with sustained impact in fields like surfactants, lipid membranes, and energy materials.

Scientific awards: Klein has received numerous accolades, including membership in the US National Academy of Sciences (2009), the American Chemical Society’s Peter Debye Award (2008), and the UK Royal Society of Chemistry’s FS Boys–A Rahman Prize (2011). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (2003), American Physical Society (1991), American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2003), and multiple international academies.