Petra Reinke holds a professorship at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA. Earlier research assignments have taken her to the Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics, the University of Basel, CHE, and the Ecole Polytechnique, Canada. Her research focuses on surface science, thin films and interfaces, nanostructures for spintronics and photovoltaics. She has been serving the community on various society and reviewer boards, and proven her writing skills in several book chapters.