About Stefan

Born in Serbia in 1990, Theoretical Chemistry Prof. Stefan Vučković completed his BS Degree in Chemistry at the University of Belgrade as the top student of his generation. After his BS studies, he was fast-tracked directly into a PhD program at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam in the group of Prof. Paola Gori-Giorgi. He received his PhD in 2017 with cum laude, the highest distinction in the Netherlands, as well as the prestigious Dick Stufkens Prize for the best PhD student of ‘HRSMC’, a school which unites top chemical research groups in the country.

In 2018, Vučković received the NWO Rubicon fellowship for a postdoc at the University of California, Irvine, in the group of Prof. Kieron Burke. He stayed there until 2021, and then secured Humboldt and Marie Curie grants for stays in the groups of Dr. Hilke Bahmann (University of Saarland, Germany) and Fabio Della Sala (CNR, Italy).

Throughout his postdocs, Vučković demonstrated early scientific independence by securing his own funding for all his projects, leading to the publication of several articles as a single author. In 2021, Vučković was awarded the SNSF Starting Grant, which allowed him to establish his chemical theory group within our department. Vučković's research focuses on developing rigorous (quantum) chemical theories and transforming them into practical and robust approximations, with the aim of addressing fundamental issues in current quantum-chemical simulations.

Furthermore, Vučković's research efforts are intertwined with his community efforts aiming at strengthening under-represented groups in academia, with a focus on promoting the visibility and authenticity of LGBTQ+ individuals within research communities.

Stefan's CV