Professor Alexander Mironenko of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA) gave a lecture at the Department of Chemistry

On October 31, 2025, Alexander Mironenko, Professor of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA), gave a lecture at the Department of Chemistry of the Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University. The lecture was titled "First principles - revealing surface configurations and reaction mechanisms in catalysis using advanced quantum models."

The lecture was attended by master`s and doctoral students and the faculty of the Department of Chemistry. Professor Alexander Mironenko provided information on various aspects of the formation and cleavage of chemical bonds, quantum methods, empirical interatomic potentials, surface catalytic effects, the process of catalysis, reactions of alkanes and alkenes, as well as the interaction of isolation and solvent effects in zeolite pores.

The lecture highlighted the importance of catalysts for the chemical industry, discussed the relationships between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, and empirical quantum models for calculating their mechanisms. Professor Alexander Mironenko explained various methods of quantum chemical calculations and introduced a computer program.

At the end of the lecture, the participants had a question-and-answer session with the professor and an open discussion.