Annika Bande is a theoretical chemist from RWTH Aachen University (Germany). After postdoctoral stays at CU Boulder (USA), the Quantum Chemistry Research Institute (Kyoto, Japan) and the University of Heidelberg, she became a group leader at the Helmholtz Centre Berlin and a lecturer at the Free University of Berlin from 2014 to 2023. During this time, she received a Freigeist Fellowship funded by the Volkswagen Foundation and habilitated in 2020.
Bande's primary research interest is the location, excitation and movement of electrons in molecules and nanostructures. She has built up a broad portfolio of methods, ranging from the quantum Monte Carlo and "conventional" methods of electronic structure and dynamics to machine learning and quantum computer simulations.
"I find it fascinating that you can intuitively understand how optical materials work, and indeed almost all chemical and biological processes, by looking at the activity of electrons," says Bande. Scientists can visualise electrons experimentally. "However, due to their quantum properties, a complete picture can only be obtained using complementary theoretical methods," Bande continues. "Changes in the electronic structure of a material can have an immense impact on its macroscopic behaviour. In PhoenixD, multi-scale simulations of optical materials are carried out with the relevant teams of experts."
With her group "Optical Materials: Computational Methods", she calculates how molecules, nanoparticles or solids interact with light. Low-energy light is used to take the "fingerprints" of substances, i.e. the spectra that can be used to characterise their structure and understand the composition of matter. Intense (laser) light stimulates the electrons to move, which can even trigger chemical reactions (photocatalysis). Furthermore, scientists use quantum chemical methods, machine learning, or quantum computing for corresponding calculations.
She traces her decision to pursue a career in science back to her time at a girls' school in Duisburg. "There were no social stereotypes that suggested subconscious role behaviour at a crucial stage in my life," says Bande. "As a result, I can ignore these stereotypes in my work, even in the male-dominated fields of theoretical chemistry and physics, and concentrate on the content." She wants to encourage young researchers not to give up their scientific career aspirations prematurely, for example, because they are (planning to) start a family. Instead, she wants to show them that an academic career can be combined with hobbies and family life. "A career in science is always exhausting," says Bande. "Without a balance of free time and human interaction in a family community, you would just wear yourself out."
