We carry out computational studies of surfaces and materials, usually in collaboration with experimental groups. Recent projects involved investigation of self-assembled monolayers and other molecular networks on metal surfaces with the groups of Manfred Buck and Chris Baddeley, and ionic charge transfer in solid-oxide fuel cell materials in collaboration with the groups of John Irvine and Richard Baker. Dr Früchtl is part of the Computational Chemistry Group at the School of Chemistry in St Andrews. Another ongoing project, carried out with the group of Tanja van Mourik, investigates the electronic properties of a molecule that may we used as a molecular switch in molecular electronic devices.

Dr Früchtl manages the HPC Cluster at the University of St Andrews, as well as various computing resources in the School of Chemistry, which form part of the EaStCHEM Research Computing Facility.