Professor Angelos Michaelides

Biography

Professor Angelos Michaelides FRSC grew up in Donegal in the northwest of Ireland and obtained a PhD in theoretical chemistry from The Queen's University of Belfast. Following this, he worked as a post-doc and junior research fellow at the University of Cambridge and then at the Fritz Haber Institute, Berlin, as an Alexander von Humboldt research fellow and subsequently research group leader. Between 2006 and 2020 he was at University College London where he was director and co-director of the Thomas Young Centre: The London Centre for the Theory and Simulation of Materials and the founding director of the Materials and Molecular Modelling Hub. Since 2020 he has been the 1968 Professor of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge.

His work involves the development and application of theoretical methods to better understand contemporary problems in chemistry, physics, and materials science. His main focus has been on exploiting computer simulation approaches to obtain molecular-level insight into issues related to water, energy, and the environment.

The longer I am in research, the more I take pleasure and pride in seeing the students and post-docs in my group grow and flourish as top-class scientists in their own right.

Angelos Michaelides

Q&A

Can you tell us more about your work?

My research uses theory, computer simulation, and artificial intelligence to understand how molecules behave at surfaces and in complex materials. More than anything, I am motivated by the excitement of uncovering how things work at the atomic scale, particularly in systems where the underlying physics and chemistry are not yet understood. Surfaces are where much of chemistry happens, controlling processes from catalysis and corrosion to energy conversion and materials growth. My group applies and develops advanced computational methods that combine quantum mechanics, statistical physics, and machine learning to create highly accurate virtual laboratories for exploring these processes in atomic detail. Alongside advancing fundamental understanding, this work can help guide the design of improved catalysts, membranes, and functional materials relevant to sustainable energy and emerging technologies. More broadly, I see chemistry entering a new era in which advances in computing and AI are making it increasingly possible to predict and design complex materials rationally rather than by trial and error.

Who or what first sparked your interest in chemistry, and how has that interest evolved over time? 

I do not have a good or inspiring answer to this question: I liked chemistry at school but planned to study architecture at university. However, at the last minute, I switched to chemistry. At the time I concluded that five years – the length of the architecture course – was far too long for anyone to spend at university!

My real spark or passion for chemistry really only came when I met my PhD supervisor Peijun Hu; whose energy and enthusiasm was infectious!

What has been the most rewarding or memorable highlight of your career so far? 

The longer I am in research, the more I take pleasure and pride in seeing the students and post-docs in my group grow and flourish as top-class scientists in their own right. I find their successes incredibly rewarding. 

I also enjoyed setting the world record for the ‘fastest marathon dressed as a scientist (male)’, although this record has been beaten several times by now!

What future directions or opportunities do you see for your work? 

I would love to fully understand and predict the behaviour of water and other complex molecular systems at realistic interfaces across all relevant scales. It remains one of the great unsolved problems linking chemistry, physics, materials science, and biology.

What do you wish more people understood about your field or the chemical sciences in general? 

That more people appreciated how central chemistry is to almost every major societal challenge, from climate and clean energy to health and technology. Chemistry often sits quietly in the background enabling advances in many other fields.

In what ways does creativity influence how you think about or carry out your work? 

Science often has an image problem as being a dry or turgid process. There is no doubt that some aspects of scientific research involve painstaking and meticulous work. However, good science is characterised just as much by imagination, creativity and bravery; very much like art!

What is your favourite element and why? 

Krypton. I explain why on the RSC's periodic table of the elements podcast: https://periodic-table.rsc.org/podcast/36/krypton