Peter Schwerdtfeger (born September 1, 1955) is a German scientist. He holds a chair in theoretical chemistry at

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural o ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, New Zealand, serves as Director of the Centre for Theoretical Chemistry and Physics, is the Head of the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study, and is a former president of the

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Rese ...

Academic career

Schwerdtfeger took his first degree in Chemical Engineering at Aalen University in 1976, after finishing a degree as chemical-technical assistant at the Institute Dr. Flad in Stuttgart in 1973. He studied chemistry, physics and mathematics at

Stuttgart University The University of Stuttgart (german: Universität Stuttgart) is a leading research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany with ...

where he received his PhD in theoretical chemistry in 1986. He received a Feodor-Lynen fellowship of the

to join the chemistry department and later the School of Engineering at

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

in 1987. After a two years research fellowship at the Research School of Chemistry (

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

), he returned to Auckland University in 1991 for a lectureship in chemistry. He received his habilitation and venia legendi (Privatdozent) in 1995 from the

Philipps University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the worl ...

. He held a personal chair in physical chemistry for five years until moving to

Albany in 2004, where he established the Centre for Theoretical Chemistry and Physics. He became a founding member of the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study in 2007. In 2007 he received the Royal Society Australasian Chemistry Lectureship, and was the Källen Lecturer in Physics at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Centre for Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Centre for Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (CAS; no, Senter for grunnforskning ved Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi) is an independent research foundation funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research ...

. He has published 350 papers in international journals. He was awarded eight consecutive Marsden awards by the

Royal Society of New Zealand Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

Fellowships and awards

*2001 James Cook Fellowship Royal Society of New Zealand James Cook Fellowship: List of Recipients
/ref> *2011 Fukui Medal International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science
/ref> *2012 Fellow of the

International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science The International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (IAQMS) is an international scientific learned society covering all applications of quantum theory to chemistry and chemical physics. It was created in Menton in 1967. The founding members we ...

. *2014

's Rutherford Medal.Explosive start for NZ's highest science honour recipient
. ''The New Zealand Herald''. 28 November 2014.

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwerdtfeger, Peter 1955 births Living people 20th-century German chemists Massey University faculty Scientists from Stuttgart Recipients of the Rutherford Medal 21st-century New Zealand chemists Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Theoretical chemists