Lars Goerigk

Biography

Lars Goerigk is an Associate Professor at the School of Chemistry at The University of Melbourne. In 2011, he obtained his PhD in the group of Prof. Stefan Grimme at the University of Münster, Germany. He then relocated to The University of Sydney on a postdoctoral scholarship funded by the Germany Academy of Sciences “Leopoldina”, where he worked in the group of Prof. Jeffrey R. Reimers and also established a successful collaboration with Prof. Leo Radom. In 2014, Lars joined the School of Chemistry at The University of Melbourne as an ARC DECRA Fellow, where he transitioned to a continuing role in June 2016.

Lars’ area of expertise is Theoretical and Computational Quantum Chemistry with special emphasis on density functional theory (DFT) method development, the treatment of electronic excited states, and applications to bio-, inorganic- and organic-chemical problems. He has made decisive contributions towards a better understanding of the role of London-dispersion (van-der-Waals forces) in chemical reactions and molecular structures. His recently developed TD-DFT methods (range-separated double hybrids with spin-component/opposite scaling) are some of the most robust for organic molecules. One of his research passions is to close the gap between method developers and method users by promoting a better understanding of DFT methods, of what they can and — more importantly — of what they cannot achieve.

Lars' work has been acknowledged with several awards, including the 2011 IBM-Zerner Award, the 2014 Selby Award, the 2017 RACI Physical Chemistry Division Lectureship, a 2019 Le Fèvre Medal by the Australian Academy of Science, and a 2020 Rennie Memorial Medal by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. He was also awarded the highest award for a theoretical in the Asia-Pacific under the age of 45, the 2022 Pople Medal (Asia-Pacific Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists). Since 2023, he has been an Associate Editor and member of the Editorial Board of PCCP.