​Laura Gagliardi received both her Master and Ph.D degree from the University of Bologna, Italy. She then worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Cambridge UK for two years.  In 2002 she started her independent career at the University of Palermo Italy, as an assistant professor. In 2005 she moved to the University of Geneva, Switzerland, as an associate professor. In 2009 she moved to the University of Minnesota, where she is currently a Distinguished McKnight Professor. Since 2016 she has served as associate editor for the ACS Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation.  She has received several awards including the Bourke Award of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2016), the Isaiah Shavitt Lectureship Award, Technion (2016), the Annual award of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Sciences (2004). She has been recognized as a fellow by the American Physical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Her research interests encompass the development of novel quantum chemical methods for strongly correlated systems as well as the combination of first principle methods with classical simulation techniques. The applications are focused on the computational design of novel materials and molecular systems for energy-related challenges. Special focus is devoted to modeling catalysis and spectroscopy in molecular systems; catalysis and gas separation in porous materials; photovoltaic properties of organic and inorganic semiconductors; separation of actinides.