"Bridging the gap between the molecular world of fundamental research and large-scale industrial R&D is mandatory for a consistent progress in science and technology."

Thomas Weber is a part-time professor at the research group Inorganic Materials Chemistry of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry. His research activities are in the synthesis and characterization of transition-metal chalcogenides, phosphides and related classes of materials that have large-scale applications in industrial catalysis. A main interest lies in understanding structure formation processes under different preparation and activation conditions; research efforts do ultimately aim at an accurate description of catalyst structure and catalyst action under industrial conditions. 

Thomas Weber studied chemistry at the University of Bielefeld (Germany) and in 1993 obtained a PhD in inorganic chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Achim Müller. After a postdoc in surface science with Prof. J.W. Niemantsverdriet at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), he joined the group of Prof. Roel Prins at ETH Zurich (Switzerland) in 1995, for a habilitation in technical chemistry and heterogeneous catalysis. In 2002, Weber was appointed Privatdozent (Associate Professor) for technical and inorganic chemistry and stayed in this role until 2010. In 2008 Weber joined Criterion Catalysts, the catalyst business of Shell Global Solutions Downstream, where he leads the novel catalytic materials and the global innovation programs. In 2011 Weber was appointed part-time professor of Solid-State Inorganic Chemistry at TU/e.