Gregory A. Voth (born January 22, 1959) is a theoretical chemist and Haig P. Papazian Distinguished Service Professor of Chemistry at the University of Chicago. He is also a professor of the James Franck Institute and the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics.
Education He received his bachelor's degree from University of Kansas in 1981 with highest distinction and honors and a Ph.D. in theoretical chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1987. His doctoral advisor was Rudolph A. Marcus. He was also an IBM Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley from 1987-1989. At Berkeley, his postdoctoral advisors were William Hughes Miller and David Chandler.
Career Professor Voth is interested in the development and application of theoretical and computational methods to study problems involving the structure and dynamics of complex condensed phase systems, including proteins, membranes, liquids, and materials. He has developed a method known as “multiscale coarse-graining” in which the resolution of the molecular-scale entities is reduced into simpler structures, but key information on their interactions is accurately retained (or renormalized) so the resulting computer simulation can accurately and efficiently predict the properties of large assemblies of complex molecules such as lipids and proteins. This method is multiscale, meaning it describes complex condensed phase and biomolecular systems from the molecular scale to the mesoscale and ultimately to the macroscopic scale. Professor Voth’s other research interests include the study of charge transport (protons and electrons) in aqueous systems and biomolecules – a fundamental process in living organisms and other systems that have been poorly understood because of its complexity. He also studies the exotic behavior of room-temperature ionic liquids and other complex materials such nanoparticle self-assembly, polymer electrolyte membranes, and electrode-electrolyte interfaces in energy storage devices. In the earlier part of his career, Professor Voth extensively developed and applied new methods to study quantum and electron transfer dynamics in condensed phase systems-much of this work was based on the Feynman path integral description of quantum mechanics.
As of 07/11/2025, Prof. Gregory A. Voth is the author or co-author of more than 650 peer-reviewed scientific articles (Google Scholar h-index = 129; total citations = 67,893) and has mentored more than 200 postdoctoral fellows and graduate students.
Honors and awards
Procter and Gamble Award for Outstanding Research in Physical Chemistry, ACS, 1985 Herbert Newby McCoy Award, California Institute of Technology, 1986 Francis and Milton Clauser Doctoral Prize, California Institute of Technology, 1987 Camille and Henry Dreyfus Distinguished New Faculty Award, 1989 David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship in Science and Engineering, 1990–1995 Presidential Young Investigator Award, 1991–1996 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellow, 1992–1994 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, 1994–1999 IBM Corporation Faculty Research Award, 1997–1999, 2003–2005 Fellow of the American Physical Society, 1997 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1999 National Science Foundation Creativity Award, 1998–2002 Miller Visiting Professorship, University of California, Berkeley, 2003 Received John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, 2004–2005 University of Utah Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Research Award, 2008 Fellow of the American Chemical Society, 2009 Fellow of the Biophysical Society, 2012 Elected to the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science, 2013 ACS Division of Physical Chemistry Award in Theoretical Chemistry, 2013 Stanislaw M. Ulam Distinguished Scholar, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 2014 ACS Joel Henry Hildebrand Award in the Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry of Liquids, 2019 S F Boys-A Rahman Award Winner, 2019. Royal Society of Chemistry Biophysical Society Innovation Award, 2021. Biophysical Society Satish Dhawan Distinguished Visiting Professor, Indian Institute of Science, 2023 National Award in Theoretical Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 2025
References
External links Voth Group home page