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

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, 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 () is a foundation that promotes international academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is funded by t ...

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 () is a 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 programs in Civil engineering, civil ...

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 The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

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 university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

), 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 Philipps is an English language, English, Dutch language, Dutch, and German language, German surname meaning "lover of horses". Derivative, patronym, of the more common ancient Greek name "Philippos and Philippides." Notable people with this surnam ...

. 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 Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

(Sweden) in 2015. From 2017-2018 he was member of the Centre for Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. He has published 350 papers in international journals. He was awarded eight consecutive Marsden awards by the Royal Society of New Zealand. One of Schwedtfeger's notable doctoral students is Patricia Hunt, professor at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

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 Royal Society of New Zealand's Rutherford Medal. *2019 Dan Walls Medal

Selected publications

* * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwerdtfeger, Peter 1955 births Living people 20th-century German chemists Academic staff of Massey University 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 James Cook Research Fellows