Serena DeBeer

Prof. Dr. Serena DeBeer serves as a Director and W3 Professor at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion since 2017 and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Cornell University Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology since 2012. She leads advanced X-ray spectroscopy research in heterogeneous oxidation catalysts and contributes to the Collaborative Research Centre / Transregio 247 (CRC/TRR247) at the University of Duisburg-Essen and Ruhr-University Bochum.

• Education: PhD in Chemistry (Stanford University, 2002), BSc in Chemistry (Southwestern University, 1995)

Her research focuses on inorganic spectroscopy, bioinorganic chemistry, and catalysis, utilizing X-ray emission spectroscopy to track electronic structure changes in catalysts. Publications emphasize heterogeneous oxidation catalysts, spinels, and element-specific characterization methods.

Scientific awards include:

• Inorganic Chemistry Lectureship Award, American Chemical Society (2016)
• Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry Early Career Award (2015)
• European Research Council Consolidator Grant (2014)
• Kavli Fellowship (2012)
• Sloan Fellowship (2011)