Congratulations to James Shepherd, assistant professor in the University of Iowa Department of Chemistry, who was recognized with an award from the United States Department of Energy's Early Career Research Program. Shepherd is one of 76 scientists from across the nation selected for the award by the DOE’s Office of Science. 

The funding will help Shepherd advance the field of finite-temperature electronic structure theory.

“Although we can observe how temperature changes bulk material properties, our understanding about how the quantum-mechanical properties of electrons change with temperature can be imprecise,” Shepherd says. “The simulations required to examine these interactions more accurately are beyond the current capability of modern supercomputers. Over the next five years, we will be able to develop new algorithms to simulate the properties of electrons over a range of temperatures with a complete treatment of quantum-mechanical effects.”

The Early Career Research Program, now in its eleventh year, is designed to bolster the nation’s scientific workforce by supporting exceptional researchers during crucial early career years, when many scientists do their most formative work.