Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 4d

We have a great group of speakers, some hands-on exercises in the afternoon, and will hopefully have fun with computational materials science and computational chemistry. Please spread the word.

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 4d

For anyone near the Research Triangle (North Carolina): The groups of Yosuke Kanai and ours will be organizing a Theory Training Workshop - primarily intended for incoming graduate students or postdoc but open to anyone (subject to capacity):

hybrid3.duke.edu/workshops/20...

#chemsky #compchemsky

2025 HybriD3 Materials Theory Training Workshop

The 2025 HybriD3 Theory Training Workshop will be held at Duke University on November 21 and 22, 2025. The workshop is aimed at graduate students and postdocs entering the field; senior undergraduate ...

hybrid3.duke.edu

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 5d

Lego Perovskite. Amazing!

Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 5d

Welcome @alexandrovalab.bsky.social - #chemsky #compchemsky !

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 8d

Happy about this paper on standardizing descriptions of perovskites, where the real credit needs to go to the team of colleagues that made this possible! Hopefully this will be used and adopted.

doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Towards an interoperable perovskite description or how to keep track of 300 perovskite ions - Nature Communications

The diversity of perovskite compositions has led to ambiguity in their representation and impose challenges for data mining and machine learning applications. Here, the authors propose a set of guidelines and a JSON schema for standardized description and reporting of perovskite compositions.

doi.org

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 10d

That request is irrespective of their funding status, btw. I am not affiliated with IPAM; I know nothing about any updates to their funding situation. We need community resources if we want places to discuss, exchange ideas, come up with new connections - and that's exactly what IPAM does.

Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 10d

#chemsky #compchemsky Happy Sunday. I wanted to make this case again for IPAM at UCLA.

www.ipam.ucla.edu/news/nsf-fun...

If you work in our field, chances are that an IPAM program contributed to the science you do at some point. AI/ML, molecular science, materials, ...

Consider supporting them.

IPAM NSF funding status - IPAM

Latest Updates: We have been notified that the suspension of our NSF grant DMS-1925919 has been lifted. However, at present NSF is not issuing new awards to UCLA. Frequently asked questions: 1. What i...

www.ipam.ucla.edu

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 10d

Very sorry. But they can stuff the ballot box all they like, the fun is in the game itself! Makes life much better! Thank you!

That being said, I cant believe perovskite lost! Who did that?? ;)

Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 13d

Congratulations!

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 13d

Amazing kids!

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 14d

This article is an amazing find for the day. I read Payne-Gaposchkin's "Stars and Clusters" when I was a teenager and it may be one of the best books I ever read. Certainly in terms of how I remember it. With great depth, yet captivating and totally accessible for someone with no background.

Elise Cutts @elisecutts.bsky.social · 15d

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin ✨ figured out what stars are made of ✨ when she was just 25. 🔭🧪

Her PhD thesis basically established the Harvard astro department — at a time when Harvard didn't officially allow woman students.

I wrote this little profile to mark the 100th anniversary of her thesis:

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Reposted by Volker Blum

Jarvist Moore Frost @jarvist.bsky.social · 16d

I'm recruiting PhD students (Imperial Chemistry), for a >Jan 2026 start.

1) Designing antimicrobial peptides with machine learning and computational chemistry approaches
2) Machine learning surrogate quantum mechanical models (particularly Tight-binding and PPP)

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

2025-09_FrostGroupPhDAdverts

September 2025 Frost group PhD adverts Overview / TL;DR Introduction The Frost Research Group Motivation / Philosophy Eligibility Funding Notes How to apply Project 1: Machine learning and computati...

docs.google.com

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 17d

This is a pretty interesting article ...

Research Group of J. Cabana @cabanachemistry.bsky.social · 17d

“Batteries push investment into flexibility, smooth demand peaks, and keep the grid stable at lower cost. They will be the foundation of a power system that can deliver abundant electricity, with reliability built in, rather than as an afterthought” #battchat
www.worksinprogress.news/p/the-beauty...

The beauty of batteries

Keeping the grid stable requires overbuilding generation, driving up costs. Batteries fix that.

www.worksinprogress.news

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Reposted by Volker Blum

Oxford Materials @oxfordmaterials.bsky.social · 21d

We are very sad to announce the death of Professor Sir Peter Hirsch, FRS.

Sir Peter was a great scientist, mentor, colleague and friend, and he will be much missed.

www.materials.ox.ac.uk/article/prof...

Prof Sir Peter Hirsch: 1925-2025

www.materials.ox.ac.uk

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 18d

Thank you for listening to this.

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 18d

This is only my personal experience. But my hope is that we will continue to realize the promise of bringing excellent people together and that the, in my experience, inadequate portrayal of immigration as a negative will not prevail.

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 18d

I have met many immigrants in my life, immigrants to more than one country. And the ones I met were usually the ones who were active, industrious, had the drive to try new things, live their dreams, contribute and advance the communities in which they arrived.

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 18d

This is an important restriction and it will be interesting to see how, and how rapidly, it can be implemented. In my view, it cannot be in the interest of our country to confront the highest-qualified individuals with a $100k "do your best work somewhere else" sign.

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 18d

Now I am also aware of Section 1(c), "(c) The restriction [...] shall not apply [...] if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines [...] that the hiring of such aliens [...] is in the national interest and does not pose a threat to the security or welfare of the United States."

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 18d

Not having this visa type will alter the pathways of many outstandingly qualified individuals, if this were implemented with the suddenness and breadth that is implied in much (but not all) of the document.

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 18d

I came to the U.S. twice myself, on H-1B. These positions were highly competitive and I could not discern that blanket "labor costs" (quote from the proclamation) could have been any factor. That would not have made any sense for these positions.

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 18d

I want to make a small comment on the recent H-1B proclamation (www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...).

I understand that this proclamation alleges abuse. I cannot speak to the examples listed there but wanted to clarify at the outset that I have never witnessed such abuse in my personal experience.

Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program was created to bring temporary workers into the United

www.whitehouse.gov

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 18d

Take a look at this opportunity if you're searching (I am not involved in any way):

postdoc-pnnl.icims.com/jobs/10907/p...

PNNL Careers

postdoc-pnnl.icims.com

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Volker Blum @aimsduke.bsky.social · 20d

#chemsky

Evan Spotte-Smith (they/them) @ewcspottesmith.bsky.social · 20d

Come work with me and the CoReACTER @ucdchemistry.bsky.social!

#AcademicSky ⚗️ 🧪

Please share widely; interested candidates (or folks who know interested candidates) please reach out at [email protected] or [email protected]. Note the application instructions linked in the quoted post.

CoReACTER @coreacter.org · 20d

The CoReACTER is looking to hire one PhD student (funded, 4 years), with a start date of January 1, 2026. Project focus is on hypergraph machine learning methods for chemical reaction networks.

Closing date: October 31, 2025

#PhDjobs #PhDSky #CompChem #MachineLearning #OpenSource #reactionnetwork

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Reposted by Volker Blum

Aurora Clark @chemnetworks.bsky.social · 22d

On a positive note - Happy Pythagorean Triple Square Day :) #math #MATH
www.npr.org/2025/09/16/n...

On 9/16/25, celebrate a date of mathematical beauty

Pythagorean Triple Square Day, as one man affectionately calls 9/16/25, is a day like no other this century.

www.npr.org

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