The objective of this research is to develop and apply computational methods for the investigation of chemical reactivity in any aqueous, catalytic, or biological environment. This will result in a complete multi-scale strategy for effective and accurate investigation of these complex processes. The applicant will develop new methods for efficient electronic structure calculations and strategically combine them with state of the art rare events techniques, and a whole range of available tools for the study of molecular processes. The methods will be directly applied to find the optimal mechanism for conversion of glycerol to lactic acid. Glycerol is a model poly-alcohol, and its study will provide new insights into selective dehydration in general, and will play an important role in the development of new processes for the valorization of biomass. The dehydration/dehydrogenation process converting glycerol to lactic acid, when optimized, has the potential to become the main route for successful recycling of this biodiesel by-product. In the longer term, the study can be extended to the transformation processes of a whole range of compounds extracted from biomass.The applicant currently has extensive experience with the development of multi-scale methods and rare events techniques. In particular, she has developed an adaptive QM/MM technique that is among the first to allow efficient and accurate simulations on reactions in solution. She will, in the course of the project, adapt this technique specifically for the accurate description of proton transfer processes, of which dehydration reaction is a common example. The host group has a remarkable track record in the quantum chemical treatment of chemical reactions and heterogeneous catalysis. The combined contributions of the applicant and the host group will result in an all-round and unique approach to the study of aqueous reactions in an environment that can directly be compared to experimental conditions.