We are pleased to send you the 59th issue of the NCCR MARVEL newsletter
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Newsletter - May 31, 2024

Dear MARVEL'ers,

Please find below our latest newsletter, with highlights and news linked to the MARVEL community.  

This month, you can read about a 6-component alloy made of aluminum, niobium, titanium, vanadium, zirconium and tantalum, which has promising properties for aerospace applications.

Congratulations to former MARVEL PI and Deputy Director Berend Smit for his election to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, because of his extensive contributions to new simulation methods that have made possible the understanding and targeted design of nano-porous materials.

Those of you who may have missed the Ig Nobel Award Tour show this past month at EPFL – or who simply want to relive its best moments – can now watch the video of the event.

As part of the activities organized jointly between MARVEL and CECAM, take note of the June 5 CECAM-MARVEL 'Classics in molecular and materials modelling', which will feature Shoshana Wodak and Bill Jorgensen on the theme of methods for computational biology and drug discovery. Finally, that same week, don't miss the MARVEL Junior Seminar on June 7!

Research highlight

In search of new alloys for aerospace applications

A study by MARVEL researchers in Raju Natarajan's laboratory at EPFL has used computational methods to accurately describe the properties of a 6-component alloy made of aluminum, niobium, titanium, vanadium, zirconium and tantalum. This alloy has promising properties that could be applied to aircraft engines or nuclear applications, due to its microstructure comprised of a disordered solid solution matrix and embedded precipitates of an ordered phase. Predictions from ab-initio calculations are in excellent agreement with experiments, and the study also allowed to derive some design rules for experimentalists on how to improve the performance of the alloy.

Read MARVEL Highlights here

Congratulations!

MARVEL Junior Seminar — October 2024

Oct 18, 2024, from 12:15 until 13:15, Coviz2 (MED 2 1124), EPFL + Zoom

The MARVEL Junior Seminars aim to intensify interactions between the MARVEL Junior scientists belonging to different research groups – this is held in hybrid mode, in order to maintain in-person contacts and allow off-campus attendees to follow the seminars remotely! We are pleased to propose the 61st MARVEL Junior Seminar: Manuel Rudolph (Lab. of quantum information and computation, EPFL) and Davide Tisi (Lab. of computational science and modelling, EPFL) will present their research. The seminar will be chaired by Alessandro Carbone (Lab. of theory and simulation of materials, EPFL).

CECAM workshop "Challenges and perspective in computational modelling for fusion reactors"

Oct 28, 2024, 8:30 until Oct 29, 2024, 17:20, CECAM-HQ-EPFL

On 28-29 October, CECAM will host a workshop on "Challenges and perspective in computational modelling for fusion reactors", co-organised by MARVEL Director Nicola Marzari with over 30 talks on how simulations help fusion technology.

MARVEL Review and Retreat January 2025

Jan 13, 2025, 17:00 until Jan 15, 2025, 14:00, Sunstar Hotel, Grindelwald

The eleventh MARVEL Review and Retreat will take place on January 13-15, 2025. The event will gather all MARVEL members, group leaders as well as postdocs and students. Presentations will show to all the community where the projects stand and what are the next steps. 

MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Alexandre Tkatchenko

Mar 06, 2025, from 16:00 until 17:15, Zoom + MED 2 1124 (EPFL)

The 39th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Alexandre Tkatchenko, University of Luxembourg. He will be presenting a lecture entitled: "AI-Driven Fully Quantum Biomolecular Simulations".

Missed the Ig Nobel Award show? Watch it here!

The 2024 Ig Nobel Award Tour show at EPFL — the video is available

With the support of the NCCR MARVEL, on 16 April 2024, the Ig Nobel Award Tour show was back at EPFL after a 5-year break. An evening of great science and laughs, with Marc Abrahams and the Ig Nobel Prize winners Chris Moulin, Damien Bouffard and Minna Lyons. It was about people who habitually stay up late, about sexual activity of anchovies, or about repeating a single word many, many, many, many, many, many, many times. If you missed it or if you would like to relive its best moments, the video is available.

CECAM-MARVEL Classics: Methods for computational biology and drug discovery

CECAM-MARVEL Classics in molecular and materials modelling: Bill Jorgensen and Shoshana Wodak

Jun 05, 2024, from 15:00 until 17:30, Online + BCH 2103, EPFL

Bill Jorgensen (Yale University) and Shoshana Wodak (the Flemish Free University of Brussels) will give a joint lecture on "Methods for computational biology and drug discovery", in what will be the tenth event in the series "Classics in molecular and materials modelling" hosted by CECAM and MARVEL.

MARVEL Junior Seminar

Bainglass Bercx

MARVEL Junior Seminar — June 2024

Jun 07, 2024, from 12:15 until 13:15, Coviz2 (MED 2 1124), EPFL + Zoom

The MARVEL Junior Seminars aim to intensify interactions between the MARVEL Junior scientists belonging to different research groups – this is held in hybrid mode, in order to maintain in-person contacts and allow off-campus attendees to follow the seminars remotely! We are pleased to propose the 60th MARVEL Junior Seminar: Edan Bainglass and Marnick Bercx (Materials Software and Data Group, PSI) will present their research. 

Industry Day

MARVEL Industry Day @Empa

Sep 05, 2024, from 9:00 until 17:00, Empa-Akademie, Dübendorf

The MARVEL Industry Day will take place on September 5, 2024 at the Empa-Akademie in Dübendorf. The day-long workshop will bring together members of industry, academia, and public research institutions to discuss areas in which computer simulations can provide important insights to industry.  The workshop will include invited seminars from academic and industrial partners. Save the date. More information will come soon.

Equal opportunities

INSPIRE Potentials – MARVEL Master's Fellowships (12'000 CHF) in computational materials science, electronic-structure simulations, machine learning and big-data are available to outstanding women researchers for 6-month stays in research groups belonging to the NCCR MARVEL. In a field of science where women are still strongly underrepresented, the INSPIRE Potentials – MARVEL Master's Fellowships aim to support excellent female students in their Master's thesis projects, while giving them access to outstanding research facilities and environments. Already 52 fellows have been admitted.

The next deadline for submission is 15 October 2024. All the information is available at http://nccr-marvel.ch/inspire.

A new INSPIRE Potentials fellow has joined MARVEL for a research project

We are happy to announce that Sofiia Chorna (ENSTA, Paris, France) was granted an INSPIRE Potentials – MARVEL Master's Fellowship through a anticipated evaluation early April 2024. She has joined the MARVEL lab of Michele Ceriotti for a 3.5-month research project — congratulations! The grantees of the April 2024 call will be announced shortly.

Female lunch event with Shoshana Wodak

Jun 04, 2024, from 12:15 until 13:15, EPFL

A lunch event with Shoshana Wodak, a pioneer of computational studies of proteins is organized at EPFL for the female students and postdocs on Tuesday 4 June at 12:15. 

A MARVEL-supported scholarship for African master students

The master’s course at the ICTP-East African Institute for Fundamental Research (EAIFR) in Rwanda is accepting applications for  the 2024/2025 academic year. There are scholarships available for Rwandan students and a small number of scholarships for students from other African countries, including one sponsored by MARVEL as part of its support to students from under-represented groups. The deadline for application is June 28, 2024.

Job offer at ETHZ

MARVEL Junior Seminar — October 2024

Oct 18, 2024, from 12:15 until 13:15, Coviz2 (MED 2 1124), EPFL + Zoom

The MARVEL Junior Seminars aim to intensify interactions between the MARVEL Junior scientists belonging to different research groups – this is held in hybrid mode, in order to maintain in-person contacts and allow off-campus attendees to follow the seminars remotely! We are pleased to propose the 61st MARVEL Junior Seminar: Manuel Rudolph (Lab. of quantum information and computation, EPFL) and Davide Tisi (Lab. of computational science and modelling, EPFL) will present their research. The seminar will be chaired by Alessandro Carbone (Lab. of theory and simulation of materials, EPFL).

CECAM workshop "Challenges and perspective in computational modelling for fusion reactors"

Oct 28, 2024, 8:30 until Oct 29, 2024, 17:20, CECAM-HQ-EPFL

On 28-29 October, CECAM will host a workshop on "Challenges and perspective in computational modelling for fusion reactors", co-organised by MARVEL Director Nicola Marzari with over 30 talks on how simulations help fusion technology.

MARVEL Review and Retreat January 2025

Jan 13, 2025, 17:00 until Jan 15, 2025, 14:00, Sunstar Hotel, Grindelwald

The eleventh MARVEL Review and Retreat will take place on January 13-15, 2025. The event will gather all MARVEL members, group leaders as well as postdocs and students. Presentations will show to all the community where the projects stand and what are the next steps. 

MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Alexandre Tkatchenko

Mar 06, 2025, from 16:00 until 17:15, Zoom + MED 2 1124 (EPFL)

The 39th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Alexandre Tkatchenko, University of Luxembourg. He will be presenting a lecture entitled: "AI-Driven Fully Quantum Biomolecular Simulations".

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