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Welcome to the Materials Computation Center

Highest occupied molecular orbital of a photosensitive P3HT based block copolymer molecule.

Simulations Show How to Turn Graphene’s Defects into Assets

Vortex nanodomain arrays mechanically written by atomic force microscope tip in 5 nm BaTiO3 ferroelectric ultrathin film

The atomic interfacial structure and charge distribution of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film covering Li metal anoade in Li-ion battery.

About MCC

The Materials Computation Center (MCC) at Penn State primary aim is to support Penn State faculty working in computer-based simulations of materials- across the various length and time scales. This support includes building connections with experimental and industrial partners – specifically connecting to the Nanofabrication and Materials Characterization Laboratories within the Materials Research Institute (MRI) at Penn State.

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For Industry

Penn State has long ranked among the nation’s top universities in industry-sponsored research, and typically partners with more than 400 companies annually.

For Experimental Faculty

The MCC will provide the information needed to add a simulation component to their work.

For Non-Industry/Non-Penn State

The MCC is a natural environment for support, training, exchange and extension of existing simulation techniques.

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Get Connected

FREE Characterization Webinars for 2DCC Users

With the reduction in campus research activities, the Penn State Materials Characterization Lab (MCL) is initiating a FREE webinar series “Making the Best of a Bad Situation:  Characterization Seminar Series” to keep users engaged and learning about various analytical techniques. We are partnering with several Big Ten facilities at: the University of Wisconsin, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign to offer 3 webinars per week starting Monday March 30th.  These will be held via Zoom on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays at 11:00AM eastern time. For a listing of upcoming webinars and to register (required) visit the MCL webpage at https://www.mri.psu.edu/materials-characterization-lab/webinars

Two-Dimensional Metals Open Pathways To New Science

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MCC Success Stories

ReaxFF Integration into ADF/BAND

In collaboration with SCM, the van Duin-group has integrated ReaxFF with the ADF/BAND graphical user interface (GUI). This code is currently available under license from SCM and allows parallel, large-scale MD simulations using ReaxFF, as well as an integrated DFT/ReaxFF simulation environment. We are currently working on integrating force field development methodology into this GUI.

Surface Catalysis

The van Duin and Janik groups are using ReaxFF simulations to study a wide range of catalytic materials, including metals and metal oxides. ReaxFF allows us to perform fully reactive simulations on the gas/solid interface. We have recently developed a Grand Canonical Monte Carlo method in conjunction with ReaxFF (Senftle, Meyer, van Duin and Janik, J.Chem.Phys. 2013, 139, 044109-1), allowing us to study catalyst surface structure as a function of reactant gas pressure.

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