Rate My Professor Anna Garden

Associate Professor Anna Garden is a computational chemist and leader of the Computational Materials Science research group in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Otago. She obtained her BSc(Hons) in Chemistry in 2005 and PhD in 2010 from the University of Otago. After completing her doctorate, she served as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Iceland in the groups of Associate Professor Egill Skúlason and Professor Hannes Jónsson. Garden returned to the University of Otago as a Lecturer in Chemistry in 2015 and progressed through the ranks to Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor.

Garden's research utilizes computational methods, encompassing quantum mechanical and empirical techniques, to study catalysis of small molecule reactions on extended surfaces and nanoparticle catalysts. Her investigations elucidate how the physical and electronic structures of materials dictate catalytic performance, with applications in designing sustainable catalysts for processes such as hydrogen evolution, CO2 reduction, and hydrogen storage. She developed the Otago Research Genetic Algorithm for Nanoclusters (ORGANA) to optimize nanocluster structures. Selected publications include 'Calculations on the catalytic activity of irregular Cu nanoparticles for H₂ evolution' (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2026, with N. B. Smith), 'Computational modelling of nanoparticle catalysis' (Nanoscale, 2025, with S. M. McIntyre), 'Predicting hydrogen storage capacity loss of FeTi by ab initio thermodynamic modelling of Fe–Ti–Si phase equilibria' (Acta Materialia, 2025, with L. Dinachandran et al.), and 'Surface nitrogen induced evolution of the electronic structure of gadolinium' (Physical Review B, 2025, with K. Kneisel et al.). Garden received the Easterfield Medal from the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry in 2021, a Marsden Fund Fast-Start grant in 2016, and an Otago University Early Career Award for Distinction in Research. As Deputy Director for Outreach and Education at the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology since 2023, she engages in educational outreach, including presentations at the IUPAC International Conference on Chemistry Education in 2024, and mentors early-career researchers.