MARVEL Distinguished Lectures

In order to enhance the visibility of the NCCR, and bring high-profile lecturers in contact with MARVEL members, MARVEL sponsors a series of NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lectures.

These lectures can take place either at EPFL or in one of the other participating institutions. Since 2020, they have been held online.

They are recorded and are available on the Materials Cloud Learn section.

Upcoming Lectures

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Massimiliano Di Ventra

    May 02, 2024, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom + MED 2 1124 (EPFL)

    The 36th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Massimiliano Di Ventra, University of California, San Diego. He will be presenting a lecture entitled: "MemComputing: when memory becomes a computing tool".

Past Lectures

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Elisa Molinari

    Feb 14, 2024, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom

    The 36th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Elisa Molinari, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. 

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Emmanouil Kioupakis

    Jun 20, 2023, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom + MED 2 1124 (EPFL)

    The 35th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Emmanouil Kioupakis, University of Michigan. He will be presenting a lecture entitled: "Advancing the state of the art in semiconductor technology through predictive atomistic calculations: from uncovering fundamental limitations to discovering new materials." 

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Claudia Felser

    May 02, 2023, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom

    The 34th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Claudia Felser, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Dresden, Germany). She will be presenting a lecture entitled: "Chirality and Topology".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Kristian Sommer Thygesen

    Mar 23, 2023, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom

    The 33rd NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Kristian Sommer Thygesen, professor computational atomic-scale materials design at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). He will be presenting a lecture entitled: "Emergent Properties in Flatland: When One Plus One is More than Two".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Heather Kulik

    Dec 13, 2022, from 15:00 until 16:30, Zoom

    The 32nd NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Heather Kulik, professor of chemical engineering at the MIT. She will be discussing materials discovery in challenging spaces with machine learning, from transition metal complexes to metal-organic frameworks.

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Alán Aspuru-Guzik

    May 31, 2022, from 16:00 until 17:15, Zoom

    The 31st NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Alán Aspuru-Guzik, professor of chemistry and computer science at the University of Toronto, and entitled: "There is no time for science as usual: Materials Acceleration Platforms".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Garnet Chan

    Apr 05, 2022, from 17:00 until 18:15, Zoom

    The 30th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Garnet Chan, professor of chemistry at the California Institute of Technology. He will be discussing the possibility of exponential quantum advantage in quantum chemistry.

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Sharon Glotzer

    Feb 08, 2022, from 16:00 until 17:15, Zoom

    The 29th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Sharon Glotzer, department chair of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, entitled "A theory of entropic bonding".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Ingrid Mertig

    Dec 03, 2021, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom

    The 28th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Ingrid Mertig, professor of physics at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg on "Transversal transport coefficients and topological properties".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — John Perdew

    Nov 15, 2021, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom

    The 27th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. John Perdew, Professor of physics and chemistry at Temple University on "More-predictive density functionals, symmetry breaking, and strong correlation"

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Alex Zunger

    Oct 20, 2021, from 16:00 until 17:15, Zoom

    The 26th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Alex Zunger, professor at the University of Colorado (Boulder, USA) on "Spontaneous symmetry breaking in nominal cubic oxide perovskites through structural, magnetic or dipolar degrees of freedom".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Darío Gil

    Jun 15, 2021, from 14:00 until 15:15, Zoom

    The 25th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Dr. Darío Gil, Senior Vice President and Director of IBM Research on "The Era of Accelerated Materials Discovery".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Georg Kresse

    May 18, 2021, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom

    The 24th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Georg Kresse, Professor of Computational Materials Physics at the University of Vienna – with a talk entitled: "Finite temperature properties with first principles accuracy, is machine learning the way to go?"

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Kristin Persson

    Apr 27, 2021, from 17:00 until 18:15, Zoom

    The 23rd NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Kristin Persson, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California Berkeley (USA) on "The Era of Data-Driven Materials Innovation and Design".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Jens K. Nørskov

    Feb 18, 2021, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom

    The 22nd NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Jens K. Nørskov, Professor of physics at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), on "Catalysis for sustainable production of fuels and chemicals".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Silvia Picozzi

    Dec 15, 2020, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom

    The 21st NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Silvia Picozzi, Director of Research at Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) at the Institute for Superconducting and Innovative materials and Devices (SPIN) in Chieti, Italy. Her lecture is entitled "Spin-orbit coupling: a small interaction leading to rich physics".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Stefano Baroni

    Nov 17, 2020, from 15:00 until 16:15, Zoom

    The 20th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture is given by Prof. Stefano Baroni, Professor of theoretical condensed-matter physics at the Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA) in Trieste, Italy, on "Gauge invariance of heat and charge transport coefficients".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture / EPFL campus lecture — Giulia Galli

    Nov 13, 2019, from 16:15 until 17:15, EPFL, Forum Rolex

    The 19th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture – also an EPFL campus lecture – will be given by Prof. Giulia Galli, University of Chicago, with whom we will be "Marveling at materials through in-silico lenses".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Emily A. Carter

    Jun 17, 2019, from 16:15 until 17:15, EPFL, Room SV1717

    The 18th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Emily A. Carter, Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University on "Quantum Simulations of Sustainable Energy Materials".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Feliciano Giustino

    Dec 05, 2018, from 16:15 until 17:15, EPFL, Room MXF1

    The 17th NCCR MARVEL Distinguished Lecture will be given by Prof. Feliciano Giustino from the Department of Materials, University of Oxford, on "Electron-phonon physics from first principles".

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Sally Price

    Sep 06, 2018, from 16:15 until 17:15, EPFL, Room MXF1

    Thursday September 6, 2018, 16:15 pm, EPFL, Room MXF1, Prof. Sally Price (University College London, UK), Can we predict how pharmaceuticals will crystallize?

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Raffaele Resta

    May 23, 2018, from 16:15 until 17:15, EPFL, Room MXF1

    Wednesday May 23, 2018, 16:15 pm, EPFL, Room MXF1, Prof. Raffaele Resta (Democritos, IOM-CNR, Trieste, Italy), Geometrical observables of the electronic ground state.

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Kieron Burke

    Feb 20, 2018, from 16:15 until 17:15, EPFL, Room MXF1

    Tuesday February 20, 2018, 16:15 pm, EPFL, Room MXF1, Prof. Kieron Burke (University of California, Irvine), Machine-learning of density functionals for applications in molecules and materials

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Chris G. Van de Walle

    Sep 21, 2017, from 16:15 until 17:15, EPFL, room SG 0211

    Thursday September 21, 2017, 16:15 pm, EPFL, Room SG 0211, Prof. Chris G. Van De Walle (University of California, Santa Barbara), Using the right criteria for design and discovery

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Yang Shao-Horn

    Sep 11, 2017, from 16:15 until 17:15, EPFL, room MXF1

    Monday September 11, 2017, 16:15 pm, EPFL, Room MXF1,  Prof. Yang Shao-Horn (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), The Future of Electrochemistry

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Steven G. Louie

    Jul 21, 2017, from 11:15 until 12:15, EPFL, MXF1

    Friday July 21, 2017, 11:15 am, EPFL, Room MXF1, Prof.  Steven G. Louie (University of California at Berkeley), The Fascinating Quantum World of Two-dimensional Materials: Interaction and Topological Effects

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Annabella Selloni

    May 16, 2017, from 16:15 until 17:15, EPFL, MXF1

    Tuesday May 16, 2017, 4:15 pm, EPFL MXF-1,  Prof.  Annabella Selloni (Princeton University), Photocatalysis on TiO2: insights from simulations

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Markus Reiher

    Mar 08, 2017, from 16:15 until 17:15, EPFL, MXF1

    Wednesday March 8, 2017, 4:15 pm, EPFL MXF-1,  Prof. Markus Reiher (ETH Zurich), Interactive and Automated Exploration of Reaction Mechanisms

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Laura Gagliardi

    Dec 20, 2016, from 17:15 until 18:15, EPFL, MXF1

    Tuesday December 20, 2016, 5:15 pm, EPFL MXF-1,  Prof. Laura Gagliardi (University of Minnesota, USA), Homogenous and heterogeneous catalysis:  two challenges for modern quantum chemistry

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Clare P. Grey

    Oct 26, 2016, from 17:15 until 18:15, EPFL, MXF1

    Wednesday October 26, 2016, 5:15 pm, EPFL MXF-1,  Prof. Clare P. Grey (University of Cambridge, UK), Structure and Dynamics in Batteries, Supercapacitors and Fuel Cell Materials: Application of New Experimental and Theoretical Approaches to Study Function

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Gerbrand Ceder

    Jan 25, 2016, from 17:00 until 18:00, EPFL, MXF1

    Monday January 25, 2016, 5:15 pm, EPFL MXF-1, with live broadcast at ETHZ HIT E51 auditorium, Prof. Gerbrand Ceder (University of California at Berkeley, USA), The Materials Genome and the Transformation of Materials Science and Engineering

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Pierre Villars

    Nov 11, 2015, from 15:15 until 18:00, EPFL, MXF1

    Wednesday November 11, 2015, 4:15 pm, EPFL MXF-1, Dr. Pierre Villars (MPDS, Vitznau, Switzerland), The MARVEL Initiative and the Integration of the Fifth Paradigm of Science

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Leonid Levitov

    Oct 13, 2015, from 16:15 until 18:00, EPFL, MXF1

    Tuesday October 13, 2015, 4:15 pm, EPFL MXF-1, Prof. Leonid Levitov (MIT, Cambridge, USA), Atomic Collapse in graphene

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Sidney Yip

    Aug 31, 2015, from 16:15 until 19:00, EPFL, MXF1

    Monday August 31, 2015, 4:15 pm, EPFL MXF-1, Prof. Sidney Yip (MIT, Cambridge, USA), On the Mesoscale Science Frontier in Materials Theory and Simulation

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Gustavo Scuseria

    Jan 14, 2015, from 15:45 until 17:00, EPFL ELA-1

    Wednesday 14 January 2015, 4:15 pm, EPFL ELA-1, Prof. Gustavo Scuseria (Rice University, USA), The strong correlation problem: A quantum chemistry perspective

  • MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Alex Zunger

    Oct 09, 2014, from 16:15 until 17:15, EPFL MXF-1

    Thursday 9 October 2014, 4:15 pm, EPFL MXF-1, Prof. Alex Zunger (University of Colorado, USA), The Inverse Problem in materials theory: Find the system that has a given target property