New paper describes on-surface synthesis and characterization of nitrogen-substituted undecacenes

Heteroatom substitution—the replacement of carbon atoms with others such as sulfur and nitrogen—can be used to tailor the electronic, magnetic, and physico-chemical properties of acenes, a class of organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons made up of linearly fused benzene rings. With potential applications in organic electronics, this fine-tuning could allow for precise engineering and property optimization. Synthesizing and characterizing larger acenes has, however, remained a challenge for solution chemistry because they feature low solubility and high reactivity. In the paper On-surface synthesis and characterization of nitrogen-substituted undecacenes, recently published in Nature Communications, NCCR MARVEL affiliated scientists and colleagues addressed this by demonstrating first on-surface synthesis of three undecacene analogs substituted with four nitrogen atoms on an Au(111) substrate and then characterizing the materials using various techniques. The work paves the way towards the precise fabrication of nitrogen-substituted acenes and their analogs, potential building-blocks of organic electronics and spintronics. 

ARPES gives first observation of dispersive excitons in a low-dimensional metallic system

Already used in some solar cells, excitons, with their charge neutrality and expected mobility, have also been proposed as potential transmitters of quantum information. In either use, it’s essential to understand how and why these quasiparticles move. Investigations into exciton mobility have been inaccessible to traditional optical experiments though because they only create and detect excitons with negligible momentum. Now, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), scientists led by NCCR MARVEL’s Professor Ming Shi at the Paul Scherrer Institute have detected several types of mobile excitons in the quasi-one-dimensional metallic trichalcogenide, TaSe3. They’ve also shown that certain exciton properties can be tuned by surface doping. The paper was recently published in Nature Materials. 

Materials Cloud repository hits milestone 500 published record mark

Materials Cloud, an Open Science Platform designed to enable the seamless sharing of resources in computational materials science, has reached the milestone 500 published record mark just four years after introduction.

Empa partners win landmark research grant for carbon nanomaterials

The CarboQuant project, led by Professor Roman Fasel, head of the nanotech@surfaces lab at Empa and experimental group leader in NCCR MARVEL's  Design and Discovery Project 3, has received CHF15 million in funding  from the Werner Siemens Foundation. The grant, spread over ten years, will allow scientists to continue developing unique carbon materials that feature novel electronic and magnetic properties. The work may eventually lay the foundation for the development of quantum computers with novel architectures.  NCCR MARVEL members Pascal Ruffieux, Group Leader Carbon Nanomaterials, and Gabriela Borin Barin, research scientist in the nanotech@surfaces lab, are also involved in the project, which is coordinated by Oliver Gröning, Deputy Head of nanotech@surfaces Laboratory & Group Leader Functional Surfaces. The following is an article on the subject written by Empa's Rainer Klose.  

Open Software Services for Classroom and Research (OSSCAR)

OSSCAR — Open Software Services for Classroom and Research — is a new online educational resource for scientific disciplines. It is a project funded by the EPFL Open Science Fund and is developed in collaboration between CECAM and MARVEL. OSSCAR provides a platform to develop, deploy, access and share material for teaching and learning in the form of web applications. Content relates to specific topics and illustrates them via interactive Jupyter notebooks that include bespoke and interactive visualization tools. Contributions from the community are invited (and easy to implement for teachers)! If you wish to learn more about this project, join us on March 9 at 14:30 (CET) for an online OSSCAR presentation.

MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Garnet Chan

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 — Alán Aspuru-Guzik

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".

CECAM-MARVEL Mary Ann Mansigh series: Erich Wimmer

CECAM and MARVEL present the third installment of our Mary Ann Mansigh Conversation series and invite you to meet Erich Wimmer who will be addressing the fascination and industrial value of materials modeling.

MARVEL Junior Seminar — March 2022

The MARVEL Junior Seminars aim to intensify interactions between the MARVEL Junior scientists belonging to different research groups. The MARVEL Junior Seminar series is now held in videoconferencing mode. We are pleased to propose the 49th MARVEL Junior Seminar: Rose K. Cersonsky (COSMO, EPFL) and Julia Linke (PSI) will present their research. 

Psi-k conference

Psi-k 2022 is the 6th general conference for the worldwide Psi-k community. Typically held every 5 years, this event is the largest worldwide in first-principles simulations. With more than 1000 participants attending the past 2010 and 2015 editions, it promises to be the most exciting, defining event in the field, offering an intense but enjoyable atmosphere, in addition to a chance to explore the beautiful region around Lausanne and Lake Geneva.  

CECAM-MARVEL Mary Ann Mansigh series: Science writing and science editing - from journals to journalism

CECAM and MARVEL present a new event in our Mary Ann Mansigh Conversation series. In a discussion with Nature Physics editor Nina Meinzer and former Nature/Chemistry World news editor Mark Peplow, we will explore how scientific editing and scientific journalism work, how they are being transformed by new technologies, how young scientists can learn to better interact with editors and writers - or become editors and writers themselves. 

MARVEL Junior Seminar — April 2024

The MARVEL Junior Seminars aim to intensify interactions between the MARVEL Junior scientists belonging to different research groups – this is held in hybrid mode, in order to maintain in-person contacts and allow off-campus attendees to follow the seminars remotely! We are pleased to propose the 58th MARVEL Junior Seminar: Marija Stojkovic (THEOS, EPFL) and Gian Gentinetta (CQSL, EPFL) will present their research. 

MARVEL Distinguished Lecture — Massimiliano Di Ventra

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".

CECAM-MARVEL Classics in molecular and materials modelling: Shoshana Wodak and Bill Jorgensen

Shoshana Wodak (the Flemish Free University of Brussels) and Bill Jorgensen (Yale University) will give a joint lecture on "Methods for computational biology and drug discovery", in what will be the tenth event in the series "Classics in molecular and materials modelling" hosted by CECAM and MARVEL.

2024 Summer camp for high-school students

The 1-week camp entitled Des atomes aux ordinateurs, à la découverte de la programmation scientifique  is open to teenagers in the last two years of high-school, with no high-level in maths or physics prerequisite. A prior knowledge of the basics of programming is recommended. It is possible to acquire these notions independently if necessary (within 3-4 hours). Half of the seats are reserved for young women. In 2024, it will take place from 24 to 28 June at EPFL.

MARVEL Review and Retreat January 2025

The eleventh MARVEL Review and Retreat will take place on January 13-15, 2025. The event will gather all MARVEL members, group leaders as well as postdocs and students. Presentations will show to all the community where the projects stand and what are the next steps.