Dr. Hans Bernhard Schlegel is a distinguished theoretical chemist renowned for his transformative contributions to computational chemistry and quantum molecular science. Born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany in 1951, he immigrated to Canada at age four and was raised in Windsor, Ontario where he developed his passion for chemical sciences. He earned his BSc from the University of Waterloo in 1972 and completed his PhD in Theoretical Organic Chemistry at Queen's University, Kingston in 1975 under the supervision of Saul Wolfe. Following postdoctoral research with Kurt Mislow and Leland C. Allen at Princeton University and with John A. Pople at Carnegie Mellon University, he spent two years as a computational chemist at Merck and Co. before joining Wayne State University's chemistry faculty in 1980, where he has remained throughout his distinguished academic career.
Professor Schlegel's pioneering work has fundamentally shaped the field of computational chemistry through his co-authorship of the Gaussian software suite, one of the most widely used quantum chemistry programs worldwide. His development of the Berny optimization algorithm revolutionized geometry optimization techniques and remains a cornerstone of computational molecular modeling. His research exploring potential energy surfaces for chemical reactions through molecular orbital calculations has advanced methodologies in transition state searching, reaction path following, and ab initio molecular dynamics. With a remarkable Thomson Reuters H-Index of 116 and over 218,000 citations as of 2020, his contributions have established new paradigms for understanding chemical reactivity and molecular behavior at the quantum level.
As a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Royal Society of Chemistry, Dr. Schlegel has significantly influenced the global chemistry community through his leadership and mentorship. His group's creation of the Electronic Structure Perl Toolkit further demonstrates his commitment to developing accessible computational resources for researchers worldwide. Recognized with the prestigious ACS Award for Computers in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research in 2013, he continues to contribute to the field as Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Wayne State University. His enduring legacy includes training generations of computational chemists and establishing methodological frameworks that continue to drive innovation in quantum chemistry software development and application.
