Curriculum Vitae

Dr.-Eng. Anca Mazare

Personal Information

Short Profile

Materials scientist specializing in oxide-based catalytic materials, nanostructured thin films, and single-atom/dual-atom catalysts. My research integrates materials synthesis with advanced spectroscopy (XPS, ToF-SIMS, FTIR, RAMAN, GDOES) to unravel structure-function relationships in applications, including heterogeneous and light-driven catalytic systems. I develop defect-engineered oxides, TiO2 nanotubes/nanosheets, catalytic MOFs, and functional coatings for photocatalysis, photoelectrochemistry, and interfacial applications. With 104 publications (h-index 38), international research leadership, and extensive teaching experience across materials science, surface chemistry, and electrochemistry, I contribute to interdisciplinary research and education in sustainable catalytic materials.

Work Experience

  • Since May 2022: Habilitation candidate - Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nurnberg, "Oxide nanostructures and their modification for tailor-made material interactions". Committee: Prof. P. Schmuki, Prof. T. Djenizian, Prof. K. Webber.
  • September 2021 - February 2022; April 2022 - January 2023: Visiting associate professor - National University Corporation Tohoku University (TU), Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Sendai, Japan.
  • November 2012 - present: Postdoctoral researcher - Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nurnberg, LKO.
  • October 2011 - October 2012: Teaching assistant - Politehnica University of Bucharest, Romania.

Education & Training

  • October 2009 - November 2012: Ph.D. Chemistry - Politehnica University of Bucharest, Romania.
  • October 2008 - July 2010: Master's Degree in Biocompatible Substances, Materials and Systems - Politehnica University of Bucharest, Romania.
  • October 2005 - July 2008: Bachelor of Economic Sciences - Romanian-American University, Romania.
  • October 2003 - June 2008: Diploma Engineer, Dipl.-Eng. - Politehnica University of Bucharest, Romania.

Teaching & Mentoring

  • Since 2014: Lecture "Nanooberflächen und Strukturierung" (2h/week).
  • Since 2020: Practical course/Internship "ToF-SIMS".
  • Since 2021: Lecture "Surface Analysis II" + Exercise (2h/week + 1h/week).
  • Since 2024: Lecture "Basic Electrochemistry II" + Exercise (2h/week + 2h/week).
  • Since 2023: Responsible for internships MAP (Advanced Materials and Processes) and Corrosion and Surface Analysis.
  • Since 2012: Mentoring > 10 Ph.D. and postdoctoral students.
  • Since 2014: Supervised 8 Bachelor's or Master's diplomas.

Involvement

  • Since 2023: Member of the Internship Committee of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, FAU.

Acquisition of Third-Party Funding

  • 1/21 ETI (Emerging Talents Initiative) - Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nurnberg.
  • Participation in several DFG and EU third-party funding applications.
  • Part of the SAN4Fuel project (HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03-01 - Twinning), with focus on single-atom-based photo(electro)catalysts for green fuel.

Other Scientific Activities

  • Patents: 2021, EP21166558.3A and 2022, PCT/EP2022/058409 "Silicone- or fluorosilicone-coated solid substrates and process for their preparation"; 2023 "The methodology to form long-term stable aerophilic blood-repellent metallic surfaces and their application thereof", USPTO application #: 63/499,717.
  • Reviewer: Electrochim. Acta, Surf. Interf. Anal., Colloids and Interfaces B: Biomaterials...
  • Reviewer of research proposals: Poland, Czech Republic, Netherlands.
  • Presentations/Conferences: > 20 oral/invited/keynote presentations at international conferences/webinars.
  • Continuous improvement of teaching - ProfiLehre plus: Certificate for Teaching in Higher Education of the Bavarian Universities - Advanced/Aufbaustufe level (8 Feb 2024).

Cooperation

  • Prof. Aleš Iglič, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • Prof. Marco Altomare, University of Twente, MESA+ Instituut, Netherlands
  • Prof. Michael Otyepka, Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci and RCPTM, Czech Republic
  • Prof. Manuella Killian, Siegen University, Germany
  • Prof. Ayumi Hirano-Iwata, Tohoku University, Japan
  • Prof. Corina Andronescu, University Duisburg-Essen, Germany
  • Prof. Thomas Kühne, HZDR/CASUS, Germany
  • Prof. Silke Christianssen, Fraunhofer IKTS, Germany
  • Prof. Jason Xu Zhichuan, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore

Language Skills

  • Romanian (native)
  • English (proficient - Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) - C2 (08/2004, Certificate number 0012294396))
  • German (Goethe-Zertifikat B2 (03/2018 License D-002-B2-10742-18))
  • French (advanced)

Selected Awards

  • Best Oral Presentation at Session 4, CMSE2021, 2021.cmseconf.org
  • Best Presentation Award NanoBioMat 2021, 25-27 November 2021
  • Materials 2022 Outstanding Reviewer Award
  • Coatings 2022 Outstanding Reviewer Award

Important Publications

  1. K. Lee,* A. Mazare,* P. Schmuki, One-dimensional titanium dioxide nanomaterials: Nanotubes, Chemical Reviews, 2014, 114(19), 9385-9454. (* equal authorship)
  2. I. Hwang, A. Mazare, J. Will, T. Yokosawa, E. Spiecker, P. Schmuki, Inhibition of H2 and O2 recombination: the key to a most efficient single-atom co-catalyst for photocatalytic H2 evolution from plain water, Advanced Functional Materials, 2022, 32 (44), 2207489.
  3. J. Park, A.B. Tesler, E. Gongadze, A. Iglic, P. Schmuki, A. Mazare#, Nanoscale topography of anodic TiO2 nanostructures is crucial for cell-surface interactions, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2024, 16, 4430-4438. (# corresponding author)
  4. A. Mazare,# M.H. Ulubas, H. Kim, I. Fomicheva, G. Sarau, S.H. Christiansen, W.H. Goldmann, A.B.Tesler, Binding Kinetics of Self-Assembled Monolayers of Fluorinated Phosphate Ester on Metal Oxides for Underwater Aerophilicity, Langmuir, 2025, 41(3), 1868. (# corresponding author).
  5. A. Mazare, # W.H. Goldmann, E. Kocak, B. Osuagwu, S. Qin, R. Cao, P. Schmuki, Silver-Loaded Titania-based Metal-Organic Frameworks as a Platform for Silver Ion Release for Antibacterial Applications, 2025, 25, 33, 12547-12553 (# corresponding author).