Hrvoje Petek (born January 13, 1958) is a Croatian-born American physicist and the Richard King Mellon Professor of Physics and Astronomy, at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, where he is also a professor of chemistry.

Education

Petek received his B.S. degree in chemistry from

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 1980. Subsequently, he obtained his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1985.

Research and career

Petek has developed coherent photoelectron spectroscopy and microscopy as methods for studying the dephasing and spatial propagation of polarization fields in solid state materials and nanostructure. He is developing methods for multidimensional multiphoton-photoemission spectroscopy. Together wit
Taketoshi MinatoYousoo Kim

Maki Kawai is a Japanese chemist who developed spatially selective single-molecule spectroscopy. In 2018, she became the first woman to become president of the Chemical Society of Japan. Early life and education Kawai earned her bachelor's degree at the ...

Jin Zhao
and Jianguo Hou, Petek discovered a delocalized electronic structure created by oxygen vacancy on titanium dioxide surface. Together wit
Jin Zhao
an

Petek also discovered wet electron states, where electrons are partially solvated by water and other protic solvents at molecule vacuum interfaces. Together with Min Feng an

Petek discovered atom-like superatom states of C60, and similar hollow molecules. Petek's research of metal plasmon excitations with semiconductor substrates, unrevealed the charge injection from optically active plasmonic modes into semiconductor substrates. Petek is Editor-in-Chief of ''Progress in Surface Science'' and has organized conferences such as the 11th International Symposium of Ultrafast Surface Dynamics, held in

Qiandao Lake Qiandao Lake (), a human-made, freshwater lake located in Chun'an County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, was formed after the completion of the Xin'an River hydroelectric station in 1959. Geography 1,078 large islands dot the lake and a f ...

, China. Petek has been (2015-2019) a member of the National Research and Development Agency Committee for the

National Institute for Materials Science is an Independent Administrative Institution and one of the largest scientific research centers in Japan. History The growth and development of today's scientific research center has passed through several phases in a number of locations: In ...

and is currently a senior scientific advisor to the Japanese Institute for Molecular Science.

Awards and honors

*2019 Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science and Technology *2018 American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows *2005 Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award, University of Pittsburgh *2002 Fellow,

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

*2000 Alexander von Humboldt Research Award *1996–1999, 2003–2006 NEDO Joint International Research Grant Awardee

References

External links

Petek Research Lab
– Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Petek, Hrvoje 1958 births Living people 20th-century American chemists 21st-century American chemists Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Pittsburgh faculty Croatian emigrants to the United States Croatian physicists Scientists from Zagreb Academic journal editors Spectroscopists Humboldt Research Award recipients Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 20th-century American physicists 21st-century American physicists