Rode, Bernd M. (Bernd Michael Rode)

PERSONAL:

Education: Earned Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52a, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria. E-mail—Bernd.M.Rode@uibk.ac.at.

CAREER:

University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria, Institute of General, Inorganic, and Theoretical Chemistry, professor of chemistry.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Recipient of four honorary degrees.

WRITINGS:

(With Thomas S. Hofer and Michael D. Kugler) The Basics of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Wiley-VCH (Weinheim, Germany), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Bernd M. Rode is a chemistry professor and prolific contributor to technical journals, having authored more than four hundred papers. Much of Rode's teaching experience is centered at universities and schools in Asia, where he has also worked at establishing institutions and organizations devoted to computational chemistry and associated technical fields. Within his work regarding theoretical and computational chemistry, Rode conducts research on the theory of liquids and solutions. He also continues to lead a research group dedicated to studying chemical evolution, with the goal of finding important clues to the origins of life.

With Thomas S. Hofer and Michael D. Kugler, Rode is the author of The Basics of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry. The book is a "concise introduction to computational and theoretical chemistry," according to a contributor to SciTech Book News. The authors concentrate largely on theory rather than history. They favor the vector space concept over the "more complicated formalism" evidence by integrodifferential equations, the SciTech Book News review reported. The authors approach their instructional mission with a desire to teach concepts. Throughout the book, they write with minimal reliance on dense formulae or complex mathematics, providing enough of both for context and understanding without overwhelming readers with esoteric material. For readers interested in a greater exposure to and explanation of the advanced formulae and mathematics, the authors include this material in an appendix. The book provides additional material and questions at the end of each chapter that are designed to help students and readers better understand the concepts and to reflect on the technical matter and its application.

Rode and his coauthors cover topics of interest to both students and professionals in theoretical and computational chemistry. They explore the basics of the vector space theory of matter; the nature and consequences of quantum mechanics; the connections between chemistry and quantum mechanics; perturbation theory in quantum chemistry; methods of computational quantum chemistry; methods of statistical simulation; molecular modeling; application of group theory in computational chemistry; and much more. Throughout, they provide in-depth exploration of theoretical models, computational methods, and approximation methods, all presented in ways intended to stress clarity of thought and concept, and to make comprehension as easy as possible. A writer for the Wiley Web site remarked: "The reader will find the text a lucid and innovative introduction to theoretical and computational chemistry."