Tanja Cuk

Tanja Cuk is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado, affiliated with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI). She holds an adjunct professorship and institute fellow roles. Her expertise spans Physical Chemistry, Heterogeneous Catalysis, Material Surfaces, and Renewable Energy.

Education: B.S.E. in Electrical Engineering and Engineering Physics from Princeton University (2000), Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University (2007), followed by a Miller Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Berkeley (2007–2010).

Research focuses on understanding reaction dynamics at solid-liquid interfaces, particularly photocatalytic water oxidation. Her lab employs multi-color spectroscopies to dissect catalytic reaction steps across picosecond to millisecond timescales. Collaborations with theorists aid in interpreting spectral signatures of elusive intermediates.

Awards include the Air Force Young Investigator Program (2012), Bakar Fellowship (2012), and DOE Chemical Sciences Council membership (2018). Her work has been featured in Nature Chemistry, JACS, and Chemical Society Reviews.

Labs: RASEI 385A. Current research extends methodologies to carbon-based reactions and non-aqueous electrolytes, aiming to advance renewable fuel production technologies.