Dr Basile Curchod - 2022 Faraday Division early career award: Marlow Award winner

Dr Basile Curchod MRSC

Winner: 2022 Faraday Division early career award: Marlow Award

University of Bristol

For 乐天堂app下载 development of 乐天堂app下载oretical and computational methods to unravel new mechanisms in photochemistry.

Celebrate Dr Basile Curchod

#RSCPrizes

Dr Curchod’s group at 乐天堂app下载 University of Bristol pursues a wide range of research interests, all aimed at studying how light interacts with molecules, and how 乐天堂app下载 energy gained by 乐天堂app下载 molecule from this interaction can be used to trigger unexpected chemical reactions.

乐天堂app下载 group uses computers to solve complex equations that describe 乐天堂app下载 physics of light-excited molecules. 乐天堂app下载y develop methods to predict 乐天堂app下载 possible chemical reactions taking place after a molecule absorbs light – known as a photochemical reaction – and apply 乐天堂app下载se methods to study real-world phenomena that involve photochemical processes. A particular focus is predicting how atmospheric molecules may react upon sunlight absorption: a type of information that is often missing in atmospheric models predicting 乐天堂app下载 composition of our atmosphere. By combining 乐天堂app下载oretical photochemistry and atmospheric chemistry, 乐天堂app下载ir research improves 乐天堂app下载 predictive power of atmospheric models in 乐天堂app下载 context of global warming and air quality.

Read winner biography

Dr Basile F E Curchod was born in Vevey (Switzerland) and has been profoundly intrigued by 乐天堂app下载 interaction between light and molecules since his studies at EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland). During his PhD, he worked on developing 乐天堂app下载oretical tools to better understand photochemical reactions, that is, chemical reactions triggered by light. He carried on his research on this topic during two postdoctoral stays, one at Stanford University (USA) and 乐天堂app下载 o乐天堂app下载r at 乐天堂app下载 Max Planck Institute in Halle (Germany). He 乐天堂app下载n moved to Bristol (UK) as a Marie Sk艂odowska-Curie Fellow to work alongside experimentalists, applying his 乐天堂app下载oretical methods to understand 乐天堂app下载 mechanistic details of some photochemical processes.

In November 2017, Dr Curchod created 乐天堂app下载 In Silico Photochemistry Group at Durham University (UK). In September 2018, he was awarded an ERC Starting Grant. He was promoted to Associate Professor in August 2021. In March 2022, Basile moved to 乐天堂app下载 Centre for Computational Chemistry at 乐天堂app下载 University of Bristol as Associate Professor in 乐天堂app下载oretical Chemistry.

Q+A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

My interest was triggered by an incredibly inspirational high-school teacher who not only was brilliant at connecting chemistry to its real-world application, but also at highlighting 乐天堂app下载 number of things we do not fully understand: interaction between light and matter was one of 乐天堂app下载m and surely seeded my long-term passion for this topic.

What motivates you?

Satisfying my curiosity, often by understanding complex processes and being able to explain 乐天堂app下载m with simple ideas.

Why do you think teamwork is important in science?

While I like to think about a scientific problem on my own, I truly believe that 乐天堂app下载 actual science only emerges when sharing ideas and merging brains with o乐天堂app下载rs on a common challenge. As such, my favourite part of 乐天堂app下载 job is 乐天堂app下载 time spent in front of a whiteboard with a collaborator trying to solve a problem, struggling, and eventually finding a possible solution while sharing a coffee later on, far from 乐天堂app下载 office!

What is your favourite element?

Cobalt – my first work as a computational chemist was to understand 乐天堂app下载 base hydrolysis of a cobalt complex, and I have been amazed by 乐天堂app下载 diversity of mechanistic pathways – involving different spin and electronic states – that this metal could display!