Rate My Professor Jelle Vekeman

Jelle Vekeman is a tenure track assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Antwerp. He specializes in computational and theoretical chemistry, employing large-scale atomistic simulations to study physicochemical processes in liquids, such as self-assembly, solvation, and nucleation. His research addresses zeolite nucleation processes and polymer solvation for chemical recycling and sustainable plastics. Vekeman earned a Master of Science in Chemistry from Ghent University in 2014, with his master's thesis completed at the Institute of Computational Chemistry and Catalysis, University of Girona, during a 10-month Erasmus exchange. He obtained his PhD in Theoretical Chemistry and Computational Modeling in July 2019 through a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network, involving research periods of 1.5 years at the University of Valencia, 1 year at the University of Perugia, and 10 months at Alya Technology and Innovation, all in Spain, followed by work at the ALGC group of Vrije Universiteit Brussel until September 2020. He then joined the Center for Molecular Modeling at Ghent University as a postdoctoral researcher, securing an FWO postdoctoral junior fellowship in 2022 running until October 2025. Recently, he transitioned to the University of Antwerp, delivering his inaugural lecture titled "From Liquid Structure to Sustainable Materials: Large-Scale Molecular Simulations."

In his teaching role, Vekeman instructs courses including Molecular Quantum Chemistry, Introduction to Quantum Chemistry, Advanced Molecular Spectroscopy, and Chemometrics, Lab Accreditation and Quality Management for the Master of Chemistry and Master of Teaching in Science and Technology: Chemistry programs. Key publications encompass "Evaluation of Green Biobased Plasticizers in Poly(vinyl chloride): Sustainability, Thermal Behavior, Mechanical Properties, and Durability" (2024, ACS Applied Polymer Materials), "Simple Molecular Model for Hydrated Silicate Ionic Liquids, a Realistic Zeolite Precursor" (2024, Chemistry of Materials), "New Tricarboxylate Plasticizers for Use in Polylactic Acid: Synthesis, Thermal Behavior, Mechanical Properties and Durability" (2024, Journal of Polymers and the Environment), and "Total revalorization of high impact polystyrene (HIPS): enhancing styrene recovery and upcycling of the rubber phase" (2024, Green Chemistry). His research has accumulated 418 citations on Google Scholar. Vekeman serves as an effective voting member on the Departmental Council of Chemistry and the Chemistry Education Committee at the University of Antwerp. His fellowships include the FWO postdoctoral junior fellowship and Marie Skłodowska-Curie training network participation.