Anastassia Alexandrova

Anastassia Alexandrova
Alma mater	Saratov University Utah State University
Scientific career
Institutions	University of California, Los Angeles
Thesis	Multiply aromatic clusters via ab initio genetic algorithm  (2005)
Website	Alexandrova Lab

Anastassia N. Alexandrova is an American chemist who is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research considers the computational design of functional materials.

Early life and education

Alexandrova was the Winner of the Russian Regional Student Olympiad in Chemistry in 2000. ^[1] She attended the Saratov State University for her undergraduate studies, where she was awarded a scholarship from the Government of Russia for outstanding performance in science. She moved to the United States for her graduate studies at Utah State University, where she studied aromatic clusters using Ab initio genetic algorithms. ^[2] In particular, she developed the Gradient Embedded genetic Algorithm (GEGA) to identify the minima of atomic clusters. ^{[2] [3]} After earning her doctorate, Alexandrova moved to Yale University, where she joined the laboratory of William L. Jorgensen. She also worked in the laboratory of John C. Tully where she studied the photochemistry of DNA fragments. ^{[4] [5]}

Research and career

Alexandrova was appointed to the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2010. ^[1] She develops multi-scale modeling methods to better understand novel functional materials. ^[1] The materials considered by Alexandrova included quantum dots, artificial metalloenzymes, heterogeneous catalysis and ultra hard alloys. ^[6] She makes use of various computational models, including density functional theory, molecular dynamics and ab initio quantum chemistry methods. Alexandrova spent 2016 as a Fulbright Program scholar at the École Normal Supérieure where she focused on computational catalysis. ^[7]

Awards and honors

• 2014 National Science Foundation CAREER Award ^[8]
• 2015 American Chemical Society Rising Star Award ^[9]
• 2016 Fulbright Fellow at the École normale supérieure ^[7]
• 2018 University of California, Los Angeles Undergraduate Research Week Faculty Mentor Awards ^[10]
• 2019 University of California, Los Angeles Distinguished Teaching Award for Senate Faculty ^[11]
• 2020 American Chemical Society Physical Chemistry Division Early Career Award in Theoretical Chemistry ^[12]
• 2021 Max Planck-Humboldt medal, for scientists with outstanding potential outside Germany.
• 2023 Brown Investigation Award by the Brown Science Foundation ^[13]
• 2024 Faraday Horizon Prize, Royal Society of Chemistry ^[14]
• 2024 Quantum Bio-Inorganic Chemistry (QBIC) Prize ^[15]

Selected publications

• Hua-Jin Zhai; Anastassia N Alexandrova; K Alexander Birch; Alexander I Boldyrev; Lai-Sheng Wang (1 December 2003). "Hepta- and octacoordinate boron in molecular wheels of eight- and nine-atom boron clusters: observation and confirmation". Angewandte Chemie International Edition . 42 (48): 6004–6008. doi:10.1002/ANIE.200351874. ISSN   1433-7851. PMID   14679555. Wikidata   Q44696251.
• Anastassia N Alexandrova; Alexander I Boldyrev; You-Jun Fu; Xin Yang; Xue-Bin Wang; Lai-Sheng Wang (1 September 2004). "Structure of the Na(x)Cl(x+1) (-) (x=1-4) clusters via ab initio genetic algorithm and photoelectron spectroscopy". The Journal of Chemical Physics . 121 (12): 5709–5719. Bibcode:2004JChPh.121.5709A. doi:10.1063/1.1783276. ISSN   0021-9606. PMID   15366994. Wikidata   Q51989691.
• Anastassia N Alexandrova; Alexander I Boldyrev (1 July 2005). "Search for the Lin(0/+1/-1) (n = 5-7) Lowest-Energy Structures Using the ab Initio Gradient Embedded Genetic Algorithm (GEGA). Elucidation of the Chemical Bonding in the Lithium Clusters". Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation . 1 (4): 566–580. doi:10.1021/CT050093G. ISSN   1549-9618. PMID   26641677. Wikidata   Q51970282.

References

1. "Alexandrova, Anastassia N. | UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry". www.chemistry.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
2. "Anastassia Alexandrova". ion.chem.usu.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
3. "Boron Flat out". cen.acs.org. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
4. "Tully Group Home Page". ursula.chem.yale.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
5. Alexandrova, Anastassia N.; Tully, John C.; Granucci, Giovanni (2010-09-23). "Photochemistry of DNA Fragments via Semiclassical Nonadiabatic Dynamics" . The Journal of Physical Chemistry B. 114 (37): 12116–12128. doi:10.1021/jp103322c. ISSN   1520-6106. PMID   20795696.
6. "Alexandrova Lab". Archived from the original on 2011-11-05.
7. "Chemistry professor Anastassia Alexandrova is awarded Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant". UCLA. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
8. "Anastassia Alexandrova wins NSF Early Career Development Award". UCLA. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
9. "Anastassia Alexandrova awarded ACS 2016 Rising Star Award". UCLA. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
10. "2018 Faculty Mentor Awards | UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry". www.chemistry.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
11. "2018-2019 Distinguished Teaching Award for Senate Faculty | UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry". www.chemistry.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
12. "ACS PHYS 2020 Early-Career Award in Theoretical Chemistry | UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry". www.chemistry.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
13. admin-psl (2023-05-01). "Seven researchers named recipients of 2023 Brown Investigator Award". Science Philanthropy Alliance. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
14. "UCLA team wins the 2024 Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Faraday Horizon Prize – UCLA". www.chemistry.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on 2025-07-13. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
15. "Anastassia Alexandrova awarded the QBIC Prize for 2024 – UCLA". www.chemistry.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-09-30.