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Professor J. Ilja Siepmann has been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). Election to APS Fellowship is limited to no more than one half of one percent of the entire membership of the society, and it represents recognition by his peers for his outstanding contributions to physics.
The criterion for election is exceptional contributions to the physics enterprise; e.g., outstanding physics research, important applications of physics, leadership in or service to physics, or significant contributions to physics education. Fellowship is a distinct honor signifying recognition by one's professional peers. The citation honoring Siepmann reads, “For the development of efficient Monte Carlo algorithms and accurate force fields and for applications to predictive modeling of complex chemical systems."
Siepmann is a Merck Professor of Chemistry and vice chair of the Department of Chemistry. He has an outstanding record of research accomplishments and service to the department, including serving as director of Graduate Studies for the chemical physics program from 1999 to 2013. He currently is a specialist editor for Computer Physics Communications, focusing on chemical, molecular, and materials physics and physical chemistry.
Siepmann has been a professor with the Department of Chemistry since 1994. He was an undergraduate student in chemistry at the University of Freiburg in Germany, and received his doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Cambridge in England. He conducted post doctoral research at the IBM Zurich Research Lab, the Koninklijke/Shell Lab in Amsterdam, and the University of Pennsylvania.
His research focuses on statistical mechanics, specializing in particle-based computer simulation to understand how molecular architecture and composition influence structure, phase behavior, and function of complex chemical systems. His research group has developed efficient Monte Carlo algorithms and accurate force fields that enable predictive modeling for chemical separations and materials design.
Siepmann has received many honors for his research and teaching, including an award for Outstanding Contributions to Postbaccalaureate, Graduate and Professional Education, and a Distinguished McKnight Professorship. He was also named a Fellow to the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute, and received an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship, a McKnight Land Grant Professorship, and a Camille & Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award.