Prof. Steinrück is member of the European Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Academia Europaea, corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Fellow of APS and AAAS, and received the AVS Medard W. Welch Award in 2017. He holds a honorary doctorate degree at the University of Szeged / Hungary and was Guest Professor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei / China.
Main research interests are (1) New materials with novel electronic, geometric and chemical properties, (2) Elementary steps of surface reactions, and (3) Development and construction of scientific apparatus. These studies aim at a fundamental physical and chemical understanding of the mechanisms and processes involved, at an atomic level. Specific research highlights are: "Surface Science with porphyrins", "Surface Science with Ionic Liquids", "Chemical modification of supported graphene", "In-situ studies of surface reactions", "Liquid metal catalysts", "Liquid organic hydrogen Carriers (LOHCs), and "Ultrathin metal, alloy and oxide films". A large variety of state-of-the art experimental techniques is applied, partly utilizing synchrotron radiation and near ambient pressure XPS.