René, an author of scientific papers employing density functional theory, is a Science & Support Specialist and Battery Industry Lead at Materials Design.

Prior to his appointment at Materials Design he worked at the Paul Scherrer Institute which has one of the major battery research laboratories in Europe.

With a background in chemistry and physics, he is an expert in the computational design of materials, superconductors and environmentally friendly pigments. He was awarded a PhD in physical chemistry from the Humboldt University of Berlin in 2000.