Anna Staerz

Anna Staerz studied chemistry at the Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen in southern Germany. After completing her master’s degree, she joined the research group of Prof. Udo Weimar and Dr Nicolae Barsan. In April 2020 she completed her PhD in which she looked at the surface chemistry of semiconducting metal oxide based sensors using operando diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy. In October 2020, she joined the research group of Prof. Harry Tuller at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral associate. There she examined how binary oxide additives influence the oxygen reduction reaction on potential solid oxide fuel cell cathodes using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In 2022, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre in the group of Prof. Philippe M. Vereecken. Here she worked on stabilizing copper electrocatalysts for low temperature CO2 reduction. In January 2023, she joined Mines as an assistant professor in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. In the future, she plans expand the capabilities of operando diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy to allow for metal oxide fuel/electrolyser cells and permeation membrane reactors to be studied in operando. Anna is originally from Denver and is excited to be back in Colorado!

Education

Post Doc, Material Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, 2020-2022

• Research Focus: Solid oxide fuel cells

Dr. Rer. Nat., Chemistry, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, 2015 -2020

• Thesis: Methods for Expanding the Diversity in the Response of Metal Oxide Based Gas Sensors

Visiting Researcher, the Chair of Prof. Kida, Kumamoto University, Japan, 2019

Master of Science, Chemistry, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, 2012-2015

• Thesis: Understanding Gas Sensing with WO3

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen,2009 – 2012

• Thesis: Thermodynamic Analysis of Antibody-Antigen Binding Based on the Temperature Dependence of the Affinity Constant

Publications

1. Seo, H.*; Staerz, A.*; Kim, D.S.; Klotz, D. ; Nicollet, C.; Xu, M.; LeBeau, J.M.; Tuller, H.; Reactivation of chromia poisoned oxygen exchange kinetics in mixed conducting solid oxide fuel cell electrodes by serial infiltration of lithia, in preparation for submission. *contributed equally
2. Staerz, A.; Kobald, A.; Russ, T.; Weimar, U.; Hémeryck, A.; Barsan, N.; Thermal Water Splitting on the WO3 Surface: Experimental Proof. ACS Appl. Electron. Mater. 2020, (2) 10, 3254–3262.
3. Staerz, A.; Somacescu, S.; Epifani, E.; Kida, T.; Weimar, U.; Barsan, N.; WO3-Based Gas Sensors: Identifying Inherent Qualities and Understanding the Sensing Mechanism. ACS Sens. 2020, 5 (6) 1624–1633.
4. Sukee, A; Alharbi, A; Staerz, A; Wisitsoraat, A; Weimar, U; Barsan, N; Liewhiran, C; Effect of AgO loading on flame-made LaFeO3 p-type semiconductor nanoparticles to acetylene sensing. Sensors Actuators B Chem. 2020 (312) 127990.
5. Staerz, A.; Gao, X.; Cetmi, F.; Weimar U.; Zhang T.; Barsan N.; Dominant Role of Heterojunctions in Gas Sensing with Composite Materials. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2020, 12 (18 ) 21127–21132.
6. Staerz, A.; Bahri, M.; Brinkmann, H.; Weimar, U.; Ersen, O.; Barsan, N.; Direct Microscopic Proof of the Fermi Level Pinning Gas Sensing Mechanism: The Case of Platinum Loaded WO3. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2020, 11 (1) 166–171.
7. Staerz, A.; Liu, Y.; Geyik, U.; Brinkmann H.; Weimar U.; Zhang T.; Barsan N.; The effect of platinum loading on WO3 based sensors. Sensors Actuators B Chem. 2019 (291) 378-384.
8. Staerz, A.; Boehme, I.; Degler, D.; Bahri, M.; Doronkin, D.; Zimina, A.; Brinkmann, H.; Hermann, S.; Junker, B.; Ersen, O.; Grunwaldt, J.D.;Weimar, U.; Barsan, N.; Rhodium Oxide Surface Loaded Gas Sensors. Nanomaterials, 2018, 8, 892.
9. Staerz, A.; Kim, T.; Lee, J.; Weimar, U.; Barsan, N.; Nano-Level Control of Gas Sensing Characteristics via P-N Heterojunction between Rh2O3 Clusters and WO3 Crystallites. J. Phys. Chem. C, 2017, 121 (44), 24701–24706. Staerz, A.; Berthold, C.; Russ, T.; Wicker, S.; Weimar, U.; Barsan