William Schneider is the Dorini Family Chair of Energy Studies and Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame’s College of Engineering. He is also a Concurrent Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, reflecting his interdisciplinary expertise across chemical engineering and chemistry. Education: Ph.D., Ohio State University (1991) B.Sc., University of Michigan-Dearborn (1986) Research Interests: Professor Schneider’s research group employs state-of-the-art first-principles molecular simulations, primarily density functional theory (DFT), to investigate heterogeneous surface reactivity and catalysis. His work addresses critical challenges in energy production and environmental protection, including catalytic removal of NOx emissions, conversion of shale gas, fuel cell catalysis, and plasma-enhanced chemical transformations. The group bridges chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, environmental science, and materials science to deliver molecular-level insights that guide catalyst design and process optimization. Scientific Awards: Giuseppe Parravano Memorial Award for Excellence in Catalysis Research & Development (2018) Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2011) BP Foundation Outstanding Teacher Award for the College of Engineering (2009) Group & Collaborations: The Schneider Research Group operates within the Computational Environmental Catalysis theme at Notre Dame. The team collaborates broadly with experimental groups worldwide to validate predictions and accelerate technology deployment. Group resources include a GitHub organization hosting code repositories, standard operating procedures, and course materials, alongside a dynamic seminar schedule and open positions for graduate students and postdocs.












