chemistry

Michael Bühl

Michael Bühl is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Michael Bühl rather than just read about it. In short: Michael Bühl is a professor of Computational and Theoretical Chemistry in the School of Chemistry, University of St. Andrews.

Key takeaways

Michael Bühl belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Michael Bühl to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Michael Bühl from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Michael Bühl is a professor of Computational and Theoretical Chemistry in the School of Chemistry, University of St. Andrews. He has published work on the performance of various density functionals, modelling thermal and medium effects, transition-metal NMR of metalloenzymes, modelling of homogeneous catalysis, and molecular dynamics of transition metal complexes.

Biography Bühl was born in 1962. He earned his PhD at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg's Institute for Organic Chemistry (Institut für organische Chemie), where his thesis advisor was Paul von Ragué Schleyer. In 1992, he worked as a post-doctoral researcher with Henry F. Schaefer III (University of Georgia). He was an Oberassistent at the Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Zürich between 1993 and 1999. In 1999, he also worked at Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Mülheim. He was on the faculty at the University of Zürich from 1998 to 2000 and then at University of Wuppertal from 2000 to 2008. He is Chair of Computational Chemistry at the University of St. Andrews since 2008.

Research interests Bühl's group applies the tools of computational quantum chemistry to study a variety of chemical and biochemical systems and their properties, focussing on transition-metal and f-element chemistry, homogeneous and bio-catalysis, and NMR properties. The methods employed are mostly rooted in density-functional theory (DFT), including quantum-mechanical/molecular-mechanical (QM/MM) calculations and first-principles molecular dynamics simulations.

References

External links Buehl's research group

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Michael Bühl

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Michael Bühl claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Michael Bühl before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Michael Bühl ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Michael Bühl

In research: Michael Bühl appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Michael Bühl in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Michael Bühl is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1962 births, Academics of the University of St Andrews, Chemists of the University of St Andrews, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Michael Bühl outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Michael Bühl in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Michael Bühl means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Michael Bühl out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Michael Bühl in simple terms?

Michael Bühl is a professor of Computational and Theoretical Chemistry in the School of Chemistry, University of St. Andrews.

Why does Michael Bühl matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Michael Bühl?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Michael Bühl.