Contact
Office
(434) 924-7203
Location
Wilsdorf Hall 126
Lab
​Wilsdorf Hall 115 395 McCormick Road

Petra Reinke

Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Contact
Office
(434) 924-7203
Location
Wilsdorf Hall 126
Lab
​Wilsdorf Hall 115 395 McCormick Road
Google Scholar Reinke Lab

About

Petra Reinke received her first degree, a diploma (M.S.) from the University of Konstanz in Germany, in Chemistry with a specialization in physical chemistry. Her thesis was on the study of hydrogen bonding in solids. Her interest in physics led her to the Max-Planck-Institute for Plasmaphysics in Munich where she earned a Ph.D. She studied low-pressure plasmas which are used in the growth of amorphous hydrogenated carbon. From here, it was only a small step to investigate the growth of diamond films and ion-matter interactions in materials like BN, diamond, silicon and other semiconductors. After a Postdoc at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, Canada, her focus shifted to the reactions at surfaces and interfaces, which are a canvas for the synthesis of nanomaterials. She pursued these interests at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and received the venia legendi (Habilitation) in 2000. After a short stay at the University of Goettingen, Germany, as a research group leader she jumped at the opportunity to move to UVA and built a surface science research group in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Education

​Post-doctoral fellow, Ecole Polytechnique - University of Montréal (Canada), Department of Engineering Physics, research group Prof. L. Martinu, 1992–1994)

Ph.D. Physics, Technical University Munich/ Max-Planck Institute for Plasmaphysics (Germany), 1992

M.S. Chemistry, University of Konstanz (Germany), 1989

B.S. Chemistry, University of Konstanz (Germany), 1989

"Surfaces are the key to Nanoscience - this is where reactions happen, and nanostructures are made. Our research looks at surfaces at the atomic scale."

PETRA REINKE, PROFESSOR

Research Interests

Nanoelectronics and 2-D Materials
Corrosion and Electrochemical Sciences and Engineering
Surface and Interface Science and Engineering
Materials Characterization
Nanomaterials and nanomanufacturing
Catalysis

Selected Publications

Critical differences in early-stage oxidation of Ni-Cr and Ni-Cr-Mo alloys. npj Materials Degradation 9, 53 (2025). Keithen G. Orson, Devin Jessup, Zachary D. Harris, Jerzy T. Sadowski & Petra Reinke
Non-Classical Growth to Mesoporous Quasi-Single Crystal CeO2 Superstructures with a Well-Defined Surface. PNAS 123, e2617489123 (2026) Meiyang Cuia,, Xiangru Wei, Moon Young Yangc,, Grayson Johnson,, Perrin Godbold, Yizhen Chen, Maoyu Wang, Yugang Zhang, Chang Liue, Shengsong Yang, Brian Leed, Sooyeon Hwang, Farzad Bastani, Mingyang Liu, Petra Reinke, Lu Maf, Hua Zhou, Christopher B.
ABS
Alternative route to Silicene Synthesis via Surface Reconstruction on h-MoSi2 Crystallites. Nano Lett., 17, pp 299–307 (2017) VOLDERS, C.J., MONAZAMI, E., RAMALINGAM, G. AND REINKE, P.
ABS
Strain Lattice Imprinting in Graphene by C60 Intercalation at the Graphene/Cu Interface. Nano letters, 15, pp.7421-7430 (2015) MONAZAMI, E., BIGNARDI, L., RUDOLF, P. AND REINKE, P.
ABS
Corrosion resistance, composition and stratification of passive films: Ni-22Cr and Ni-22Cr-6Mo alloys passivated and exposure aged in acidic chloride solutions. K. Orson, E. Romanovskaia, A. Costine, J. Han, K. Ogle, J.R. Scully, P. Reinke
ABS
Data-driven assessment of chemical vapor deposition grown MoS2 monolayer thin films. A. Costine, P. Reinke, P. Balachandran.

Courses Taught

MSE 4055 Nanoscience and Technology
MSE 7220 - Surface Science
MSE 6167 - Electronic, magnetic and optical properties of materials
MSE 3670 - Electronic, magnetic and optical properties of materials (UG)
MSE 6010 Electronic and Crystal Structure of Materials Every Fall - MSE core class

Featured Grants & Projects

"Acquisition of an X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer for In-situ Experiments to advance Corrosion Studies, Surface and Interface Engineering" PI: P. Reinke, DURIP-ONR ((8/1/16 – 7/31/18) Program Manager: Dr. D. Shifler.
NSF-MRI (9/1/16 – 8/31/19) E. Opila, P. Reinke, I. Harrison, S. Macko NSF-MRI (9/1/16 – 8/31/19) E. Opila, P. Reinke, I. Harrison, S. Macko
“Nanosphere Synthesis and the Impact of Curvature on Molecule Adsorption” PI: P. Reinke, National Science Foundation – Division of Chemistry (8/1/15-7/31/18)
"Understanding Atomic Scale Structure in Four Dimensions to Design and Control Corrosion Resistant Alloys" PI: L. Marks and others, Co-PI at UVa: J. Scully, P. Reinke, MURI-ONR, (7/1/14 – 6/30/17), Program Manager: Dr. D. Shifler.
"Challenges in the physics and chemistry of complex surfaces" PI: J. Schnadt (Lund University, Sweden), P. Reinke, and A. Mikkelsen (Lund University, Sweden). STINT-The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation Research and Higher Education. Initiation Grant (8/30/2014 - 9/1/2015)
“Investigation of the oxidation of stoichiometric and carbon-rich tungsten carbide surfaces” PI: P. Reinke, National Science Foundation – Division of Materials Research– Ceramics (8/1/10-7/31/15)

Faculty Spotlight: Surface and Interface Engineering

Professor Petra Reinke discusses her research on surface and interface science and engineering.

Petra Reinke headshot

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