Dr. Daniel Keefer
Short Bio
Daniel’s scientific journey took him from Munich (PhD in theoretical chemistry at LMU) over the sunny coasts of Southern California (PostDoc in computational spectroscopy at UC Irvine) to Mainz, where he is currently building his junior research group. Starting with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry, Daniel’s growing fascination for quantum chemistry and physics led him to quickly omit the Biochemistry part, and exchange all the colorful chemicals in LMU’s abundantly equipped laboratories for colorful molecular wave functions he enjoyed visualizing on a screen.
After learning that the isomerization of a single molecule (retinal) initiates vision, and that molecular motions really can be controlled by tailoring light pulses (which seemed witchcraft at first!), the course for his future scientific career was set. In 2023, he was awarded the ERC starting grant QuantXS (1.5 Mio €) for the computational development of quantum-controlled X-ray spectroscopy.
Beyond his research, Daniel chairs the Early‑Career Advisory Board of Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, serves as the scientific staff representative at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, is a junior faculty member at the Max Planck Graduate Center, and is a selected member of the Young Academy of Europe. He also balances his professional life with the rewarding challenges of raising two children (parental leave 2023 & 2025).
Professional Record
since 2024 Independent Group Leader, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz
since 2024 Junior faculty member, Max Planck Graduate Center
2023 - 2024 Research Group Leader, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz
2019 - 2023 PostDoc, University of California, Irvine
2015 - 2019 PhD Thesis (summa cum laude), Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich
Awards
2023 ERC Starting Grant QuantXS
2022 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings (University of California visiting scientist)
2019 Feodor-Lynen-Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
2019 Award for outstanding dissertation (Dr. Klaus Römer foundation)
2015 Award for outstanding master thesis (Dr. Klaus Römer foundation)
Boards & Committees
2026 Conference organizer, CECAM Flagship School SpectroDynamics, Lausanne
2025 Scientific Staff Representative, MPI for Polymer Research
2024 Early career advisory board (chair), Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation
2024 Young Academy of Europe (member)
Roles & Responsibilities
The group leader position at a Max Planck Institute can be compared to an assistant professor position at a university, without the teaching requirement. We have personnel and budget responsibilities, participate in organizational duties at our institute, and are the main responsible persons for the rooms, setups and equipment of our experiments (and simulations!).
With the kick-off of his ERC starting grant in 2024, Daniel got promoted to an independent group leader, which can be compared to an associate professor at a university - more budget, more personnel, more responsibility. Daniel was also granted examination rights at the Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU), allowing him to promote his own PhD students. Although not required to teach, Daniel is participating in teaching at JGU (PC3 spectroscopy lecture) and gives regular lectures on theoretical chemistry and quantum mechanics at MPIP.
Daniel closely interacts with his group members on a daily basis, while at the same time giving them the freedom to be experts in their field and take responsibility for their projects early on. He took multiple leadership seminars offered by the Max Planck Academy to equip himself with the tools (“situational leadership”!) of managing a diverse research team. Daniel is a big believer in open communication in science and regularly exchanges ideas with experimental and theoretical colleagues.