Bernd Michael Rode

Rode started his career as an assistant professor at the Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry of the University of Innsbruck.

Rode invited interested Universities from Austria, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam to participate in the first ASEA-UNINET Plenary Meeting in Ho Chi Minh City.

Rode served during the periods 1998–2001 and 2005–2008 as vice-president in the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD) representing the WEOG states EU, USA, Canada and Australia.

Rode with the Knight Grand Cross (First Class), the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand, for his activities and achievements to intensify the European-Asian scientific collaborations.

Rode's research is the development and application of hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical simulation techniques, focusing on a broad range of problems in solution chemistry.

In 2004 an improved technique known as quantum mechanical charge field molecular dynamics explicitly aimed at the treatment of solvated systems has been developed in Prof.

During the last years the application of this technique enabled accurate simulations of ionic compounds and organic species as well as coordination complexes in aqueous solution.

Instead of enzymes transition metals act as catalyst to induce peptide formation in highly concentrated aqueous NaCl solution, with copper (II) showing the highest catalytic activity.

Since such solutions have a tendency to dilute themselves, the thermodynamic and kinetic unfavourable peptide formation reaction is promoted.

Rode investigates the properties of the salt induced peptide formation reaction under various conditions, highlighting also its possible connection to biohomochirality.

Rode developed the practical and flexible visualization software Molvision® capable of interactively analyzing dynamic simulation data.

Bernd Michael Rode
Example of a hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical simulation of aqueous Sn(II) performed by Rode et al. [ 9 ] Oxygen atoms of first shell molecules are shown in red. The influence of the lone electron pair of Sn(II) on the hydration structure is clearly visible.
Structure of the salt induced peptide formation complex with one chelating and one end-on coordinated glycine ligand, one chloride ligand and two axial water molecules obtained via energy minimization at Hartree-Fock level in implicit solvent. [ 10 ]
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