Axel D. Becke

Axel Becke
BornJune 10, 1953 (1953-06-10)
Esslingen, Germany
DiedOctober 23, 2025(2025-10-23) (aged 72)
Halifax, Canada
Education
Known forDensity functional theory
Electron localization function
Hybrid functional
AwardsKillam Prize (2016)
Herzberg Gold Medal (2015)
Chemical Institute of Canada Medal (2015)
FRS (2006)
Schrödinger Medal (2000)
Scientific career
FieldsComputational chemistry
Workplaces
ThesisNumerical Hartree-Fock-Slater Calculations on Diatomic Molecules (1981)
Donald W. L. Sprung
Notable students
Erin Johnson

Axel Dieter Becke FRS (June 10, 1953 – October 23, 2025) was a physical chemist and Professor of Chemistry at Dalhousie University, Canada. He was a leading researcher in the application of density functional theory (DFT) to molecules.

Early life

Becke was born in Esslingen, Germany and moved to Canada along with his parents and siblings at the age of 3. He attended the Sir Robert Borden High School in Ottawa. He graduated with a B.Sc. from Queen's University in 1975. He completed his M.Sc. in 1977 and Ph.D. in 1981 from McMaster University. His PhD advisor was nuclear physicist Donald W. L. Sprung.

Academic career

From 1981 to 1983, Becke was a NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University. He took up his first faculty position at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario in the 1980s. In 2006, he relocated to Dalhousie University to serve as the Killam Chair in Computational Science.

Research

Density functional theory (DFT) was originally designed to describe metallic solid state systems. Becke, along with his co-researcher John Perdew, demonstrated that DFT could be an effective tool in quantum chemistry as well, where it is used to describe the structure and energetics of molecules.

Honours and awards

In 2000 he was awarded the Schrödinger Medal from the World Association of Theoretically Oriented Chemists. In 2006 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London.

In 2015, Becke was awarded the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering.

He has also received several other awards:

References

  1. ↑ "Professor Axel Dieter Becke Obituary". Obituaries. Ottawa Citizen. 22 November 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  2. ↑ "Axel D. Becke". IAQMS (International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science). Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  3. ↑ "Axel Becke". Dalhousie University. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  4. ↑ "Professor Axel Dieter Becke Obituary | Ottawa Citizen Remembering". obituaries.timescolonist.com.
  5. ↑ Nordholm, Sture; Baerends, Evert Jan; Burke, Kieron; Gill, Peter; Gori-Giorgi, Paola; Grimme, Stefan; Head-Gordon, Martin; Helgaker, Trygve; Johnson, Erin; Jones, Robert O.; Perdew, John; Salahub, Dennis; Savin, Andreas; Scuseria, Gustavo; Tozer, David J. (2026-08-07). "The rocky path of DFT into chemistry—Discussions at a symposium and reflections on a circular journey in honor of Axel Becke 1953–2025". The Journal of Chemical Physics. 165 (5). doi:10.1063/5.0337560. ISSN 0021-9606.
  6. ↑ "Axel Becke". Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  7. ↑ Clary, David C. (2024). Walter Kohn: From Kindertransport and Internment to DFT and the Nobel Prize, World Scientific Publishing.
  8. ↑ "Fellows". Royal Society. Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  9. ↑ "Chemist Axel Becke wins $1M Herzberg Medal". CBC. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "Axel Becke". Dalhousie University. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.