Rate My Professor Raffaella Demichelis

Associate Professor Raffaella Demichelis is a prominent computational chemist at Curtin University in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Molecular and Life Sciences. She obtained her Master's degree and PhD in Chemistry from the Università degli Studi di Torino in Italy, specializing in theoretical chemistry within the Theoretical Chemistry group. After completing her doctorate, she undertook a short postdoctoral position at the same institution before moving to Australia for a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at Curtin University, which she extended, leading to her current roles as Associate Professor, ARC Future Fellow, and member of the Curtin Institute for Computation and The Institute for Geoscience Research (TIGeR).

Demichelis's research centers on applying classical and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to investigate mineral formation, crystal growth mechanisms, and atomic structures in systems ranging from natural environments like coral reefs and the human body to applications in CO2 sequestration and energy production. Her work has provided quantitative evidence supporting non-classical nucleation theory for mineral crystallization in aqueous solutions and resolved structural debates for minerals such as vaterite. Key publications include "Stable prenucleation mineral clusters are liquid-like ionic polymers" (Nature Communications, 2011), "The multiple structures of vaterite" (Crystal Growth & Design, 2013), "Thermodynamically consistent force field for molecular dynamics simulations of alkaline-earth carbonates and their aqueous speciation" (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2015), and contributions to the CRYSTAL code development. She has garnered over 3,000 citations and developed simulation tools used worldwide in academic and industrial laboratories for chemistry, geochemistry, and materials science. Demichelis has received the 2022 F.G. Houtermans Award from the European Association of Geochemistry—the first Australian recipient—the 2023 Dorothy Hill Medal from the Australian Academy of Science, and recognition in the WA Young Tall Poppy Science Awards. She chaired the Early- and Mid-Career Researcher Forum of the Australian Academy of Science in 2022, advocating for equity, diversity, inclusion, and sustainable research careers while engaging in STEM outreach.