The Center conducts theoretical and computational
research on the electronic and physical properties of diverse
materials systems including metals, semiconductors, and
insulators in ordered and disordered states and in alloys
and compounds. Both computational and analytical techniques
are used to study the properties of condensed-matter and
atomic/molecular systems.
Major current research directions include new
computational methods, disordered systems, energy storage and
generation, thin films, magnetic materials, molecules and
clusters, mechanical properties, nanostructures, quantum
computing, quantum dots, radiation in matter,
superconductivity, and surface science.
A wide variety of computational methods are used, including
first-principles electronic-structure methods, numerical
statistical-mechanical methods, quantum many-body theory,
and density-matrix approaches. Supercomputers and a
variety of visualization techniques are utilized to make
direct comparison with experiments.
The research has strong couplings with Navy experimental
research programs and, in many cases, has the capability for
predicting new materials with enhanced or new properties.
