Dear Psi-k'ers,

a number of colleagues have asked me where to find more information on quantum-mechanical simulations during these lockdown times - since I've been teaching density-functional theory for a while, I've decided to organize 3 public live webinars on the topic, each 2 hours long (including a break). These are aimed either at experimental colleagues that want to learn more about the field, or at researchers that want to start learning more about simulations - feel free to distribute this below to those you think might be interested.

Wed Apr 15, 3pm-5pm CEST: Density-functional theory. An introduction to electronic-structure methods and in particular density-functional theory. Suitable for everyone that wants to learn what DFT is.

Thu Apr 16, 3pm-5pm CEST: Density-functional practice. An introduction to calculations using the total energy, planewaves, pseudopotential method. Suitable for everyone that wants to learn how to perform a DFT calculation. A self-learning handout and a virtual machine with pre-installed open-source quantum-simulation codes are also available - we'll use Quantum ESPRESSO.

Fri Apr 17, 3pm-5pm CEST: Applications and limitations. An introduction to the properties that can be calculated with DFT, their accuracy, and the practical or conceptual limitations for such calculations. Suitable for everyone that wants to learn what can, or cannot, be done with DFT. Will also answer the perennial question "Why is DFT like Tinder?".

Details on how to follow these 3 webinars are given below - note that you'll need a 4-digit password (the year in which Walter Kohn won the Nobel prize). The webinar videos will be recorded and made available (together with the slides) in the Learn section of the Materials Cloud (https://www.materialscloud.org/learn); during the webinar, participants will be able to type questions in the live chat; answers to the most topical ones will be provided later in a PDF file, also in the Learn section. For those wanting to try their hands at simulations, there will be the chance to do so after the second webinar, using the Quantum Mobile virtual machine, that can run on any computer (Windows, Max, Linux...) with an Ubuntu Linux environment pre-installed with many open-source simulation codes (we'll use Quantum ESPRESSO - https://www.quantum-espresso.org/). Links to the Quantum Mobile and the GitHub tutorial material (this latter to be finalized in the next few days) will also be available in the Learn subsection. All information below - with many thanks to MARVEL and MaX, for the IT infrastructure (https://nccr-marvel.ch/ and http://www.max-centre.eu/)), and to all the team and partners of the Materials Cloud (https://www.materialscloud.org/team, https://www.materialscloud.org/home#partners).

I'll conclude with our call for more virtual education and conferences: Less carbon, more silicon!

                        nicola marzari

Main website: https://www.materialscloud.org/learn - go to the section "Fireside chats for lockdown times", subsection "A gentle introduction do DFT calculations - April 2020"

Webinars: details on the http links and password are below. These will be given on Apr 15/16/17 2020, at 3pm CEST (that's Central European Summer Time - i.e. the current time in Rome/Berlin/Paris - you can find your local time at https://time.is/compare/1500_15_Apr_2020_in_CEST).

Note that there is a maximum limit of 500 participants, and things can go wrong, so if anything does, videos and all material will in any case be posted in the Materials Cloud Learn section (https://www.materialscloud.org/learn), together with all relevant info for those interested.

Password: a 4-digit number - the year in which Walter Kohn won the Nobel Prize.

Density-functional theory
Wed Apr 15, 3pm-5pm CEST
https://epfl.zoom.us/j/360496579?pwd=VlNtMCtjTW9oRndEalVsaEU0RVFNUT09
Password: a 4-digit number - the year in which Walter Kohn won the Nobel Prize.

Density-functional practice
Thu Apr 16, 3pm-5pm CEST
https://epfl.zoom.us/j/387981888?pwd=QThRMnExeXk1NXNqb0lPUlEwT0t3QT09
Password: a 4-digit number - the year in which Walter Kohn won the Nobel Prize.

Applications and limitations
Fri Apr 17, 3pm-5pm CEST
https://epfl.zoom.us/j/535473835?pwd=QjF2WTV4c3ZUbGZTT0RYOGJnKzE3Zz09
Password: a 4-digit number - the year in which Walter Kohn won the Nobel Prize.

Or an H.323/SIP room system:

    H.323:
    162.255.37.11 (US West)
    162.255.36.11 (US East)
    221.122.88.195 (China)
    115.114.131.7 (India Mumbai)
    115.114.115.7 (India Hyderabad)
    213.19.144.110 (EMEA)
    103.122.166.55 (Australia)
    209.9.211.110 (Hong Kong)
    64.211.144.160 (Brazil)
    69.174.57.160 (Canada)
    207.226.132.110 (Japan)

First webinar: (password as above)
    Meeting ID: 360 496 579
    SIP: [email protected]

Second webinar: (password as above)
    Meeting ID: 387 981 888
    SIP: [email protected]

Third webinar: (password as above)
    Meeting ID: 535 473 835
    SIP: [email protected]