PD Dr. Harald Oberhofer's (*1980) research interests lie primarily in the field of material development for energy applications and electronics. In particular, he works on the discovery and optimization of both inorganic and organic solids for photochemistry, transistors, and batteries. In all cases, the central focus is on charge transport problems (electrons/holes, protons, or ions) in the material and at interfaces, such as electrodes/semiconductors or in solution photocatalysis. His research is based on a multi-layered process in which a deep understanding of the transport processes involved enables the formulation of so-called material descriptors which can be easily calculated and which correlate well with the desired material observables. These are calculated using ab-initio or ab-initio-parameterized multiscale models in order to ultimately be analyzed using modern data analysis or machine-learned methods.

PD Dr. Oberhofer completed his physics studies at the University of Vienna, from which he also received his master's and doctoral degrees. In addition, he also received a master's degree in materials simulation from the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon. After a stay at the University of Cambridge (England) as a postdoctoral researcher, he joined the TUM Chair of Theoretical Chemistry as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow. He then started his own subgroup at TUM and obtained his habilitation and the title of private lecturer. Since 2020 he has held a Heisenberg position at the Chair of Theoretical Chemistry.