The Fritz Haber Center for Molecular Dynamics was established in 1981 by the Minerva Foundation of the Max Planck Society and The Hebrew University.
It was named after Fritz Haber, the renowned and controversial German chemist of Jewish ancestry. He has made one of the most significant scientific discoveries of the 20th century, namely the Haber-Bosch process ammonia from the air. This invention is feeding, every day, the 8 billion human beings living on this planet.
The center's purpose was to support and develop theoretical scientific research in molecular reaction dynamics in Israel and strengthen the scientific collaboration with German scientists in these fields. Since its inauguration, the center became a known establishment of molecular dynamics research in the scientific world with a strong influence on chemical and materials sciences.
The center's research's original focus emphasized molecular reaction dynamics, then at the forefront of chemical research. Over the years, the Molecular Dynamics field has evolved considerably and remains central to any fundamental physical/chemical processes. The research done at the Fritz Haber Center has also grown, indeed, expanded and flourished. The goal is still the development of cutting-edge molecular dynamics methods and applications. The fields of focus and scientific questions changed, and with them, the techniques, approximations, and general attitudes. The areas of activities by the different researchers form a significant sample of activities in the Molecular Dynamics world: quantum coherent control, charge-transfer excitations, attosecond dynamics, coarse-grained dynamics, quantum electronic dynamics in nanocrystals, dynamics in biophysical systems, proton-transfer dynamics in water environments, and proton wires in proteins.
For full details see our annual reports
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Directors of the Center:
1981 Professor R. D. Levine (Founding Director)
1989 Professor R. B. Gerber
1991 Professor R. Kosloff
1998 Professor A. Ben-Shaul
2006 Professor R. Baer (Current)
Chairs of the Beirat:
1981 Professor E. Schlag
1996 Professor G. Comsa
2000 Professor W. Domcke.
2010 Professor G. Meijer (Current)