Joachim Sauer is a computational quantum chemist who solves problems in heterogeneous catalysis (C-H bond activation) and sorption of small molecules in nano-porous materials (water harvesting from air) in close collaboration with experimentalists.

This includes studies on single crystal surfaces and gas phase clusters as experimental model systems.

He is known for combining rigor and relevance in his work. He develops methodologies that make large realistic models of extended systems accessible for accurate quantum chemical ab initio methods.

 

Joachim Sauer studied chemistry at Humboldt University in (East-) Berlin where he acquired the Dr. rer. nat. degree in 1974.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall he worked for the San Diego based modelling company BIOSYM. Presently, he is Senior Researcher at Humboldt University in Berlin where he was Professor of Theoretical Chemistry from 1993 – 2017.

He is an external member of the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and he was a Visiting Miller Professor at UC Berkeley.

He is a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science and the German National Academy Leopoldina and a Foreign Member of the Royal Society.