| Authorised form of name | Becke; Axel Dieter (1953-2025); physical chemist |
| Dates | 1953-2025 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Place of birth | Esslingen, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, South Germany, Europe |
| Date of birth | 10 June 1953 |
| Place of death | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, North America |
| Date of death | 23 October 2025 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Burial place: At the top of the hill of Oakridge Memorial Gardens, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. |
| Occupation | Physical chemist |
| Research field | Applied mathematics |
| Computational chemistry |
| Computer science |
| Quantum chemistry |
| Theoretical Chemistry |
| Quantum physics |
| Physical chemistry |
| Activity | Education:
Sir Robert Borden High School; Queen's University, BSc Engineering Physics (1975); McMaster University, MSc Theoretical Physics (1977); McMaster University, PhD Theoretical Physics (1981)
Career:
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University, Canada (1981-1983); Professor of Chemistry, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario (c 1984); Killam Chair in Computational Science, Dalhousie University, Canada (2006); Harry Shirreff Professor of Chemical Research Emeritus, Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University, Canada (2025).
Memberships:
International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science
Awards/Medals:
Medal of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science; the Schrödinger Medal of the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists; the American Chemical Society Award in Theoretical Chemistry; the CIC Medal of the Canadian Society for Chemistry; the NSERC Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering. |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 18/05/2006 |
| Age at election | 52 |
| Relationships | Parents: Helmut and Hannelore Becke.
Siblings: Tom, Peter, and Alan. |
| PublishedWorks | RCN R74176 |
| OtherInfo | Renowned for developing theoretical and computational methods for calculating the electronic structure of atoms, molecules and solids. His work was widely applied in chemistry, physics and biology for high-accuracy calculations of the properties of large molecules and materials.
Known for the Density functional theory (leading researcher in the application of density functional theory (DFT) to molecules.), Electron localization function, and Hybrid functional.
The journal Nature recently identified two of Axel’s publications as the 8th and 25th most cited publications of all time. |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
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| Source | The Royal Society Fellows Directory, Professor Axel Becke FRS, [URL: https://royalsociety.org/people/axel-becke-11062/; last accessed: 17/12/2025]
Dalhousie University, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, News & Events, Professor Axel D. Becke, FRS, FRSC (1953-2025), [URL: https://www.dal.ca/faculty/science/chemistry/news-events/axel-becke.html; last accessed: 17/12/2025]
Ottawa Citizen Obituaries, Professor Axel Dieter Becke Obituary, [URL: https://ottawacitizen.remembering.ca/obituary/axel-becke-1093339669; last accessed: 17/12/2025] |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/104328390 |
| Code | NA9205 |