Dr. Wafa Maftuhin
Post-Doc Researcher, CIPR
Dr. Wafa Maftuhin earned his PhD in Physics from the University of Freiburg, Germany, in 2023. He then joined the University of California, Riverside as a postdoctoral researcher, working on large-scale molecular simulations and method development in DFTB. His research lies at the intersection of physics, chemistry, and computation, with a focus on electronic structure theory and functional materials.
Educational Qualification
- Ph.D., Physics, University of Freiburg, Germany, 2023
- M.S., Physics, National Central University, Taiwan, 2017
- B.S., Physics, University of Brawijaya, Indonesia, 2015
Research Interests
- Electronic Structure Theory
- Molecular Dynamics and Computational Modeling
- Mechanochemistry
- Asphaltenes and Complex Molecular Systems
Selected Publications
- Raisch, M., Maftuhin, W., Walter, M., & Sommer, M. (2021). A mechanochromic donor–acceptor torsional spring. Nature Communications, 12, 4243.
- Hertel, R., Maftuhin, W., Walter, M., & Sommer, M. (2022). Conformer ring flip enhances mechanochromic performance of ansa-donor–acceptor–donor torsional springs. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 144(48), 21897–21907.
- Khodayeki, S., Maftuhin, W., & Walter, M. (2022). Force dependent barriers from analytic potentials within elastic environments. ChemPhysChem, 23, e2022002.
- Lai, S. K., & Maftuhin, W. (2019). An efficient optimization algorithm that hybridizes DFTB and DFT theories within a modified basin hopping method. Computer Physics Communications, 236, 164–175.
- Bhat, P., Maftuhin, W., & Walter, M. (2026). Ab initio force prediction for single molecule force spectroscopy made simple. RSC Mechanochemistry, 3, 301–308