Jens Kehlet Nørskov

Education

Nørskov earned his MSc in Physics and Chemistry in 1976 and his PhD in Theoretical Physics in 1979 from the University of Aarhus Denmark under B. I. Lundqvist.

Academic career

Nørskov is known for his theoretical work on description of surfaces, catalysis, materials, nanostructures, and biomolecules. His work on computer-based heterogeneous catalysis has in several instances led to the development of new ideas for catalysts for e.g. ammonia synthesis and fuel-cells. He holds honorary doctorates from the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and from the University of Jyväskylä. He is a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, the Danish Academy of Engineering, Academia Europaea and a foreign member of the US National Academy of Engineering.

Following his PhD, he served as a research fellow, postdoctoral associate and staff scientist at various institutions – including IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, and Haldor Topsoe. In 1987, Norskov began serving as a research professor at Technical University of Denmark and was named professor of theoretical physics in 1992. In June 2010, he moved to Stanford University to become the Leland T. Edwards Professor of Chemical Engineering and the Founding Director of the SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis at Stanford and SLAC. In July 2018, he moved back to the Technical University of Denmark to hold the Villum Kann Rasmussen Chair. Nørskov was the chair of the Danish National Research Foundation 2019-2023.

Jens Kehlet Nørskov is married to Bodil Kehlet Nørskov.