Welcome

Our research group focuses on developing a fundamental understanding of the link between the physical properties of materials and their chemical constitution. The main tool we use is molecular simulation. In this approach, a detailed geometric and energetic model of the material of interest is created and then simulated using large scale high performance computing. By subjecting the resulting molecular conformations to statistical mechanical analysis, macroscopic properties may be computed.

Our current focus areas are: ionic liquids, a class of non-volatile liquids that show great promise as replacements for conventional volatile organic solvents; sorption, diffusion and ion exchange in nanomaterials, with a particular emphasis on ion exchange of radioactive cations in titanosilicate materials; fluid properties, where we are most interested in making quantitative predictions of thermodynamic and transport properties of fluids of industrial interest; and new simulation methodologies, where our goal is to develop and apply novel computational methods that enable difficult systems to be examined with molecular simulation. You may read more about these research areas, as well as find out about the people in our group, by following the research link at the top.

I teach many different undergraduate and graduate courses in the department. Follow the teaching link above to find out what is on tap this semester.