Huub de Groot aims to understand the fundamentals of direct energy conversion by proteins, complexes, membranes and cells in natural photosynthesis for the chemical design of responsive matrices for direct energy conversion with high yield by artificial photosynthesis.

More information about Huub de Groot

Curriculum Vitae

Personal information

Nationality:   Dutch
Date of birth:   19 May 1958

Education

1986   PhD Solid State Physics Leiden University, The Netherlands (cum laude)
Thesis title: ‘Non-Linear Excitations in Magnetic Systems’
1982   MSc in Physics, Leiden University, The Netherlands

Current and previous research positions

1998 – now     Professor of Biophysical Organic Chemistry, LIC
2009 – 2018     Scientific director of the Dutch Towards BioSolar Cells Consortium
1996 – 1998   Senior lecturer, LIC
1988 – 1996   Lecturer, LIC
1988 – 1992   Academy-Fellow (Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences)
1986 – 1988   NIH Post-doc fellow and NWO fellow, MIT, Cambridge, USA
1986   Postdoctoral researcher FOM, Leiden

Grants, awards, recognitions since 2016

2022   HORIZON Europe SUNER-C - SUNERGY Community and eco-system for accelerating the development of solar fuels and chemicals (ULEI 205 k€)
2020   EU H2020 SUN2CHEM - Novel photo-assisted systems for direct solar-driven reduction of CO2 to energy rich chemicals (ULEI 234 k€)
2018   H2020-FETFLAG-2018-01_SUNRISE: Solar energy for a circular economy EU H2020_814426 (199.918€)​​​​​​​
2018   NWO TOP, The molecular mechanism of long-range exciton transfer in chiral self-assembled supramolecular matrices (k€ 823)​​​​​​​
2017   NWO -ENW ROADMAP uNMR National Roadmap for Large Scale Research Facilities (with M. Ubbink; ULEI 2.641.293€)​​​​​​​
2016   NWO NMARRS Joint research school granted to 5 NMR institutes in NL and Graduate School programme project with M. Ubbink (k€ 195)
2016   NWO-CW Solar to Products with F. Buda (k€ 259)

Contribution to teaching and supervision (all times)

Supervisor of 46 PhDs; Supervisor of 11 Postdocs; 4CSC; 1 HEC; 1 Marie Curie, 3 Veni, (+2 Vidi) since 2000

• Teaching Energy Transition: Photon Power for LST-Minor Sustainable Chemistry and Biotechnology (4042METPP)
• Teaching nuclear spin dynamics, solid state NMR, and coherent photochemistry for international master’s in Chemistry in Leiden
• Founding member of the curriculum committees for the Life Science and Technology bachelor’s programme with Delft University, the Liberal Arts and Science bachelor’s of the Leiden University College The Hague and the multidisciplinary honours programme in Leiden
• Lectures in magnetic resonance microscopy and sustainable energy
• Honours classes Artificial photosynthesis, Crises in biology and Metabolic disorder
• Contributing to the minor Science Based Business and Fundamentals of Molecular Biotechnology
• Regular contributions with photosynthesis, artificial photosynthesis, green energy to the educational outreach and SPOC of Leiden University for high school students
• Teaching at international PhD schools, the European summer school in biological solid-state NMR, the EBSA photosynthesis school and courses in materials and energy
• Lecturer for Lapp Top and Pre-University colleges

Other responsibilities since 2016

• Member of several boards, scientific review committees and councils (NERA, Sun-to-X, uNMR, SUNERGY Board, CeNT scientific council, Euromar, Sun to X)
• Jury member and Reviewer for Prizes, Calls and Applications 
• Scientific director of the BioSolar Cells PPP and programme leader of the corresponding fundamental research programme with FOM/NWO
• Member of PhD thesis committees in The Netherlands and abroad
• Science Expert for the European Union and the European Science Foundation
• Member of the standing committee for the selection of access to iNEXT European facilities for structural biology
• Member international search committees for (tenure track) professorships
• Member of Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities, American Physical and Chemical Societies, Netherlands Physical, Biophysical and Chemical societies, and society of Leiden professors

Publication record including five recent representative publications

Ca. 300 works; 272 papers in Web of Science (44 since 2016), h-index: 48, 8573 citations by 5485 items

Full publication record: Leiden University

• Joya K.S., Groot H.J.M. de, Controlled Surface-Assembly of Nanoscale Leaf-Type Cu-Oxide Electrocatalyst for High Activity Water Oxidation. ACS Catalysis. 2016, 6, 1768–1771. DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.5b02950
• Dasgupta R., Gupta K.B.S.S., Elam D., Ubbink M. and de Groot H.J.M., Dipolar dephasing for structure determination in a paramagnetic environment, Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. 2021, 113. DOI: 10.1016/j.ssnmr.2021.101728
• Li X., Buda F., De Groot H.J.M. and Sevink G.J.A., Dynamic Disorder Drives Exciton Transfer in Tubular Chlorosomal Assemblies, Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2020, 124, 4026-4035. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c00441
• Sun Z., Diebolder C.A., Renault L. and de Groot, A Semisynthetic Peptide-Metalloporphyrin Responsive Matrix for Artificial Photosynthesis, CHEMPHOTOCHEM, 2019, 3, 630-635. DOI: 10.1002/cptc.201900063
• Thomas B., Rombouts J., Oostergetel G.T., Gupta K.B.S.S., Buda F., Lammertsma K., Orru R., and de Groot H.J.M., A Hybrid Solid-State NMR and Electron Microscopy Structure-Determination Protocol for Engineering Advanced paraCrystalline Optical Materials, CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, 2017, 23, 3280-3284. DOI: 10.1002/chem.201700324

Presentations including five presentations at international conferences since 2016

• 2022 14 - 15 June: Brussels SUNERGY workshop on the future of solar fuels/ SUNERGY roadmapping workshop Co-organiser and Keynote speaker. Title: ‘Artificial Photosynthesis’
• 2022 30 May- 3 June: E-MRS symposium on "Sustainable approaches for renewable energy conversion to fuels and chemicals" invited speaker. Title: Bioinspired nonadiabatic principles for artificial photosynthesis with high yield.
• 2019 9 December: M2I conference Noordwijkerhout  invited speaker (Artificial Photosynthesis: harnessing solar energy for fueling the circular economy)
• 2019 5 November: CO2 Value Day Sunrise / Energy-X roadmap (speaker/presentation)
• 2019 20 June: EU Sustainable Energy Week ‘EUSEW’ Brussel (Energy storage to boost EU decarbonisation and competitiveness) invited
• 2016 9-14 October: AMPERE biological solid-state NMR school Palma de Mallorca 2016 invited opening lecturer: “Where do we head?”