David A. Kofke

PhD

D. Kofke.

David A. Kofke

PhD

David A. Kofke

PhD

Walter E. Schmid Chair
SUNY Distinguished Professor
Director of Undergraduate Studies

Research Topics

Statistical physics; molecular modeling and simulation; software engineering

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Biography

David Kofke’s research is in the area of molecular simulation. His group considers the development of molecular simulation methods, particularly as they pertain to free-energy calculations and configurational integrals in general. He currently has activities examining a) the development and application of very efficient “mapped averaging” methods, particularly focusing on crystal-phase calculations in conjunction with density-functional theory methods, where the advances are proving highly effective; and b) synthesis of integral equation methods and molecular simulation for the purpose of calculating virial coefficients and other properties more efficiently. He is also active in development of object-oriented molecular simulation software for education.

Dr. Kofke is author of over 140 refereed publications, and received a Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1990, the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1994, and in Research and Creative Activity in 2004. He is the 2004 recipient of the triennial John M. Prausnitz Award for applied chemical thermodynamics, and in 2007 he was awarded the Jacob F. Schoellkopf Medal from the Western New York Section of the ACS. In 2012 he received the Himmelblau Award from the CAST division of the AIChE. Prof. Kofke is a member since 1999 of the Board of Trustees of CACHE, and he served as President of the organization for the two-year term 2010-2012. Prof. Kofke was elected Fellow of the AIChE in 2014, and AAAS in 2015. He has been an Associate Editor of the Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data since 2016.

Kofke received his BS in chemical engineering in 1983 from Carnegie-Mellon University, and his PhD in 1988 from the University of Pennsylvania, where he worked under the supervision of Eduardo Glandt. He has been on the UB CBE faculty since 1989, and he now holds the rank of SUNY Distinguished Professor. He served as Chair of CBE for the years 2006-2012, and he served as Co-Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering for two years, from 2010 to 2012. 

Education

  • PhD, Chemical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 1988
  • BS, Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 1983