Guangdong-Technion Leadership in Science and Technology Scientific Lecture by Prof. Chris Pickard-University of Cambridge

Title

Mapping the complex chemistry of dense matter测绘稠密物质的复杂化学成分

Speaker

Chris Pickard

Sir Alan Cottrell Professor of Materials Science
Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy
University of Cambridge

Host

Prof. Elissaios Stavrou (GTIIT MSE)

Date & Time

May. 18 2022, Wednesday, 7:00pm-8:00pm(Beijing Time), 2:00pm-3:00pm(Israel Time)

Venue

E310 (Education Building, 3rd floor)

Language

English(Simultaneous interpretation will be available)

How to join:

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Free snacks will be provided at 18:40 pm.

Abstract

First principles methods for the prediction of structures and chemistry at high pressures have delivered a powerful tool for the computational exploration of dense matter. While early studies focused on the exotic properties of relatively simple systems, typically the elements and binary compounds, much of the matter in the Universe is likely to be found in more complex mixtures.[1] At the same time, the promise of discovering materials with extreme properties relies on the ability of screen a wide variety of compounds.[2] I will reflect on why ab initio random structure searching (AIRSS) is particularly suited to these challenges, and the importance of visualising the vast datasets we are now generating.[3]

[1] Conway, Lewis J., Chris J. Pickard, and Andreas Hermann. “Rules of formation of H-C-N-O compounds at high pressure and the fates of planetary ices.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, no. 19 (2021).

[2] Shipley, Alice M., Michael J. Hutcheon, Richard J. Needs, and Chris J. Pickard. “High- throughput discovery of high-temperature conventional superconductors.” Phys. Rev. B 104, 054501 (2021).

[3] Shires, Ben W.B., and Chris J. Pickard. “Visualising energy landscapes through manifold learning”, Phys. Rev. X 11, 041026 (2021)

Bio

Professor Pickard’s research helps the modern scientist “see” and discover the universe at the atomic scale through Quantum Mechanics – from the centres of giant exoplanets, to pharmaceutical compounds, new battery materials and high temperature superconductors. He is the inaugural Sir Alan Cottrell Professor of Materials Science in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge. Previously he was Professor of Physics, University College London, and Reader in Physics, University of St Andrews. He has held EPSRC Fellowships, and a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. He is a lead developer of CASTEP and introduced both the GIPAW approach to the prediction of NMR spectra and Ab Initio Random Structure Searching (AIRSS). In 2015 he won the Rayleigh Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics, awarded for distinguished research in theoretical, mathematical or computational physics.