DATE:

Friday, April 16, 2021

TIME:

3:30 PM

LOCATION:

Virtual Zoom Conference

SPEAKER:

Dr. Joshua A. Rackers, Truman Fellow, Computational Multiscale, Sandia National Laboratories

ABSTRACT:

Understanding life at the molecular scale is eminently important. The ability to predict how molecules will behave or interact would give us the capacity to design new materials and find new medicines. What makes this challenge hard is the nature of the rules that govern life at the molecular scale: quantum physics. Because of the complexity of quantum mechanics, finding accurate solutions to systems with anything more than a few atoms is basically impossible. In this talk I will present how we can use machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to circumvent this problem. With these methods we have the potential to simulate molecules as big as proteins at quantum-level accuracy.

Bio: Josh Rackers is a Truman Fellow at Sandia National Laboratories where he studies how to do quantum accurate simulations of biological molecules. Prior to joining Sandia, Josh obtained a Ph.D. in Biophysics from Washington University in St. Louis. Josh grew up in the Ohio and attended Ohio State University, where he majored in Physics and Political Science. He spent three years teaching high school physics and chemistry in Baltimore, 26 Maryland before ultimately heading back into research. The experience of teaching has stuck with Josh, personally and professionally. He is passionate about his work not only because of its scientific potential, but also because it is accessible to anyone who wants to use physics to understand the biological world.

Presenter Website

Department Link

HOST:

Antoni Luque

VIDEO: