Professor Ulrike Diebold is a distinguished leader in surface science currently serving as Professor of Surface Physics at the Vienna University of Technology and Vice President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences since July 2022. She earned her doctoral degree in Technical Physics from TU Wien in 1990 following her diploma studies at the same institution and subsequently pursued postdoctoral research at Rutgers University in New Jersey until 1993. Her academic career flourished at Tulane University where she progressed from Assistant Professor to Full Professor between 1993 and 2011 while maintaining a dual research professorship there since 2011. Professor Diebold's leadership extends to her role as deputy head of the Institute for Applied Physics at TU Wien since 2010 and her coordination of the FWF-funded Coordinated Research Center TACO.
Professor Diebold's pioneering research has revolutionized our understanding of metal oxide surfaces through meticulous atomic-scale investigations using advanced Scanning Probe Microscopy techniques complemented by surface spectroscopies and first-principles calculations. Her seminal 2003 review article The Surface Science of Titanium Dioxide in Surface Science Reports has become a foundational reference with thousands of citations establishing critical frameworks for subsequent research in the field. Her groundbreaking work on water-oxide surface interactions supported by consecutive ERC Advanced Grants has provided essential insights for applications in catalysis environmental science and energy conversion technologies. Professor Diebold's methodological rigor in unraveling defect structure-reactivity relationships has set new standards for experimental surface science research worldwide.
A recipient of the prestigious Wittgenstein Prize Austria's highest scientific honor Professor Diebold has earned international recognition including the Arthur W. Adamson Award from the American Chemical Society and two ERC Advanced Grants in 2012 and 2020. She maintains influential roles in the global scientific community as a member of the Leopoldina National Academy of Sciences Academia Europaea and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences while serving on editorial boards including Surface Science Reports. Currently leading cutting-edge research on atomic-scale properties of titanium dioxide aluminum oxide and silicate surfaces her work continues to shape fundamental understanding of surface phenomena with wide-ranging implications. Professor Diebold remains dedicated to advancing both theoretical frameworks and practical applications in surface science ensuring her research maintains significant relevance across physics chemistry and materials science disciplines.
