A.D. Dinga Wonanke

About

I was born and raised in Cameroon, where my curiosity about science and the natural world first took shape. This curiosity led me to study chemistry at the University of Dschang, where I earned both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. During this period, I developed a strong interest in understanding matter at the atomic and molecular levels, an interest that would eventually lead me into the field of computational chemistry.

Driven by a desire to use computation to solve challenging scientific problems, I moved to New Zealand to pursue a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Canterbury under the supervision of Dr. Deborah Crittenden. My doctoral research focused on developing computational models to understand and predict molecular behavior, particularly in systems undergoing light-induced chemical transformations. This experience provided me with a strong foundation in theoretical chemistry, molecular modeling, and scientific programming.

Following my PhD, I joined Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom as a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Dr. Matthew Addicoat. There, I expanded my research into porous materials, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs), combining computational chemistry, data science, and materials informatics to understand and predict their properties.

I later moved to Germany to join the group of Professor Christof Wöll at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), where I contributed to the development of FAIR data infrastructure for porous materials. My work involved curating, analysing and connecting large-scale materials datasets, helping to bridge the gap between computational predictions and experimental materials research. During this period I was awarded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellow to join the Heine’s group at Dresden Technical University.

As a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellow at TU Dresden, I worked at the intersection of computational chemistry, materials informatics, and artificial intelligence. My research focused on developing predictive frameworks capable of learning the relationship between synthesis conditions and material structures. A major outcome of this work was the FAIR-MOF framework, a comprehensive ecosystem that combines curated databases, machine learning models, graph neural networks, and digital tools for porous materials research. Through FAIR-MOF, I helped establish one of the largest FAIR-compliant collections of porous materials data and developed methodologies to predict synthesis conditions directly from crystal structures, accelerating the discovery and design of new materials.

My work during the MSCA fellowship also involved large-scale high-throughput screening of tens of thousands of porous materials for energy-related applications, including hydrogen storage, batteries, and gas separation. The impact of this research was recognized through several distinctions, including being selected as a finalist at Falling Walls Lab Berlin and participation in the 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, where I had the opportunity to engage with Nobel Laureates and outstanding young scientists from around the world.

I am currently a Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate at Nottingham Trent University, where my research investigates the influence of positional isomerism on adsorption phenomena in porous framework materials and its impact on structure-property relationships. In parallel, I am exploring the application of computational chemistry and machine learning to hydrogen evolution reactions and sustainable energy technologies. My broader research interests include porous materials, hydrogen storage, batteries, catalysis, synthesis prediction, materials informatics, graph neural networks, scientific software development, and artificial intelligence for chemistry.

Beyond my research, I am passionate about open science, FAIR data, scientific software engineering, and interdisciplinary collaboration. I have developed numerous open-source tools, databases, and web platforms that are used by researchers worldwide. I believe that the future of chemistry lies in the integration of domain knowledge, data science, and artificial intelligence, and my long-term goal is to develop digital laboratories and autonomous discovery platforms capable of transforming how new materials are designed, synthesized, and deployed.

Having lived, studied, and worked across Africa, Oceania, and Europe, I value international collaboration and diverse perspectives. I remain committed to mentoring young scientists, promoting open and reproducible research, and developing technologies that help address global challenges in energy, sustainability, and advanced materials discovery.

Employment

• Nottingham Trent University Postdoctoral Fellow
  2025 - Present
• TU Dresden MSCA postdoctoral Fellow
  2023 - 2025
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Postdoc Research Fellow
  2022 - 2024
• Nottingham Trent University Postdoc research fellow
  2019 - 2022

Education

Education history is unavailable.

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications

Publications are unavailable.