Birgit Schwenzer Email & Phone Number

I have more than 15 years of experience in wet-chemical and solid-state synthesis of inorganic materials (nano- and micrometer scale morphology) and organometallic compounds, with a strong background in chemistry (inorganic, organic, physical, organometallic) and materials science (materials for energy-related applications, i.e. PV, LEDs, battery materials ...). While I have worked on a wide variety of projects (also including work on polymer membranes and graphene/ionic liquid composite materials) I enjoy investigating structure-property relationships for inorganic materials most. I routinely combine my synthesis skills with my expertise in various vibrational and optical spectroscopy methods (FTIR, Raman, UV/Vis, fluorometry, …) to understand molecular interaction and composition and elucidate how to predictably tailor the properties of multicomponent materials e.g. for energy conversion and storage applications.I have more than 40 peer-reviewed scientific publications (h-index = 24). 19 of these publications are first-authored publications, among them a widely cited review article on membranes for vanadium redox flow batteries as well as several publications on gallium nitride nanoparticle luminescence efficiency. Additionally I am named on several U.S. patents and international patents.I have project management experience and more recently program management expertise through my position as a program director at NSF. I also organized or co-organized several symposia in the area of 'bio-inspired materials for energy application' at international and national Materials Research Society (MRS) conferences. I have given numerous scientific presentations on different aspects of my research at national and international conferences (oral & poster presentations).

Listed skills include Materials Science, Spectroscopy, Characterization, Chemistry, and 33 others.