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Tulane Physicist Receives Top Honors for Theories on “Nature's Glue”

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Tulane Physicist Receives Top Honors for Theories on “Nature's Glue” EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM TO STIMULATE COMPETITIVE RESEARCH VOL.8 NO.8 MAY 2011 Tulane physicist receives top honors for theories on “nature’s glue” Tulane University physics Professor John P. Perdew was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in May 2011 for his key role in the development of density functional theory (DFT). Dr. Perdew joins the NAS ranks with LSU physicist Dr. Ward Plummer, who was elected in 2006, and 2,100 other distinguished scientists, many of which are Nobel Prize winners. Drs. Perdew and Plummer are members of the Louisiana Alliance 1 2 3 for Simulation-Guided Materials Applications (LA-SiGMA), funded by NSF EPSCoR. The NAS was established by President Abraham Lincoln to recognize leading scientists in all fields and to provide science advice through reports to the Federal government. New members are chosen by member vote and being 4 5 elected to the NAS is one of the highest Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano, Tulane University honors for a scientist or engineer. The April 2009 issue of the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation (JCTC) was dedicated to Dr. John Perdew to honor The NAS election citation says, his career and contributions toward the development of density functional “Perdew has led the effort to put a theory. Dr. Perdew is one of LA EPSCoR’s lead investigators in the NSF- sound mathematical and physical funded materials science research alliance, LA-SiGMA. foundation under the conceptual particles that repel one another. as advances in computer hardware ideas of Density Functional Theory. With these fundamental interactions, and software, led to the adoption of Perdew derived exact properties of scientists have long wondered what this theory in chemistry and to the the exchange-correlation energy, atoms, molecules, and solids can exist, 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared using exact constraints to construct and with what shapes and properties? by physicist Walter Kohn (for DFT) and the approximations widely used for Before 1965, these questions could chemist John Pople (for sophisticated applications across condensed matter only be roughly answered. computer codes). Nowadays, DFT physics, chemistry, and materials is applied largely through powerful science.” Dr. Perdew further explains: “DFT standardized computer codes. provided a way to get accurate answers So, what is DFT? more efficiently by solving one-electron The way to make DFT more accurate wave equations with selfconsistent was to improve its approximation for The material world is made up of effective potentials. The theory was the electron-density-dependence of its atoms, molecules and solids, which exact in principle for the state of lowest exchange-correlation energy, which is in turn are made of electrons and energy, and approximate but improvable responsible for most of the binding of nuclei. The nuclei provide the forces in practice. The improvements, to one atom to another. So I and others that hold the electrons together, but which I and others contributed, as well have been guessing the rule for the electrons are quantum mechanical “nature’s glue”, guided by the exact conditions that we and others had “Neither my postdoctoral supervisors who introduced me to DFT nor I derived. I was lucky to find at Tulane could have anticipated that this theory would become the most widely- a brilliant long-term collaborator in used and widely-cited theory of the past thirty years, playing a key role Dr. Mel Levy (Chemistry). And I have first in condensed matter physics, then also in chemistry, and now also in had many other outstanding junior geosciences and engineering.” and senior collaborators, here and - Dr. John P. Perdew, Tulane University elsewhere.” 1201 N. Third St., Suite 6-200, Baton Rouge, LA 70802 - Phone (225) 342-4253 - Fax (225) 342-3371 - www.laregents.org A World Leader in Citations professor at Tulane University, he had worked with Dr. Sy Vosko at Toronto Journal citations are a key indicator and Dr. David Langreth at Rutgers, of the impact of a scientist’s work. both of whom were fundamentally Last year, Tulane University physics interested in the DFT of electronic and math student Alan Liu ran reports structure that had been proposed in on the most-cited researchers listed 1964 by Hohenberg, Kohn, and Sham. by information company Thomson Reuters. Liu discovered that nearly “This theory was showing a few early 70,000 citations refer to Dr. Perdew’s successes in solid state physics at work on DFT, ranking him as the the time my postdoctoral supervisors world’s most cited physicist from 1981- introduced me to it. Neither my 2010. postdoctoral supervisors who introduced me to DFT nor I could In response to the report, Dr. Perdew have anticipated that this theory humbly replied, “My co-authored papers would become the most widely-used that appear on this list do so because and widely-cited theory of the past they provide widely used approximate thirty years, playing a key role first in functionals for electronic structure condensed matter physics, then also in calculations. An article’s potential for chemistry, and now also in geosciences The cover of the JCTC journal honoring the citedness depends strongly on the and engineering,” said Perdew. career of Dr. Perdew depicts the “density population of researchers in its field functional theorist’s dream and expectation and sub-field. Even within a sub-field, “So the bad luck of not finding a of building more accurate exchange- the most cited papers are not always permanent job for six years was correlation density functionals based on the best ones.” also the good luck of getting in on careful consideration of physical principles the ground floor of a powerful new and exact constraint imposition.” Luck Has Played a Role theory. And when the Tulane Physics Department hired me, they gave me education in computational materials According to Dr. Perdew, he attributes the freedom and security to develop science in Louisiana. “luck or unseen help” as a major factor this theory further over many years,” in the launching of his career success, added Perdew. Perdew’s LA-SiGMA research team as it had a bit of a rocky start. will continue to develop more accurate Research Refinements functionals that will be turned into When Dr. Perdew completed his Ph.D. high-performance computational from Cornell University in 1971, the job Dr. Perdew’s research has been codes by the LA-SiGMA Cybertools market for academic physicists was supported steadily by the NSF since and Cyberinfrastructure (CTCI) team. at an all-time low. He spent six years 1978, and more recently also by LA- The resulting codes will be used to working in temporary post doctoral SiGMA. The LA-SiGMA alliance, advance the research of all of the research positions. This felt like the which includes prominent researchers LA-SiGMA science drivers, which worst luck, however, he now realizes from seven Louisiana universities, include multiscale methods for strongly that it was good luck in disguise. LA EPSCoR, and the LA Board of correlated materials, materials for Regents, is leveraging a 5-year NSF energy storage and generation, and By the time he was hired as an assistant grant to transform research and biomolecular materials. #4475 Baton Rouge, LA 70821-3677 LA Rouge, Baton P.O. Box 3677 Box P.O. Louisiana EPSCoR Louisiana.
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