Scientists Gather at Wake Forest to Unlock Mysteries of Materials

The secrets to making better cell phones, microchips, and batteries lie in the electronic structure of their materials.

More than 150 physicists and chemists from around the world will gather at Wake Forest University June 5 to 8 to talk about modeling, understanding, and predicting properties of materials and to explore the science behind developing better materials for a variety of uses.

The 24^th annual Workshop on Recent Developments in Electronic Structure Theory is an international forum for sharing ideas about computing previously inaccessible properties of materials. Electronic structure theory describes the behavior of electrons in atoms, molecules, and solids.

“This research is the basis for the design of new and improved materials with direct applications to all areas of science and technology,” said Timo Thonhauser, professor of physics who organized the conference with Natalie Holzwarth, professor of physics, and Akbar Salam, professor of chemistry.

“We’re focusing on basic fundamental research that will lead to the development of novel materials, impacting all kinds of devices,” Holzwarth adds. “This conference sets the tone for the next several years of research in this field.” Read more.