Péter Nagy, research professor at BME won a 1,2 million Euro ERC Starting Grant aiming at the high-accuracy, quantum chemistry based modeling of molecular processes, which can also be utilized for the knowledge-based development of molecules, materials, and catalytic processes. The European Research Council – (ERC) Starting Grant funds the research projects of outstanding young researchers.
Péter Nagy, who has been working as a research assistant professor at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering of BME since 2015, spoke about the objectives of the proposed research: ”The computer aided molecular modeling is based on the laws of physics and can be imagined as simulating the properties of molecules in a “virtual laboratory“, instead of or supporting potentially complicated and expensive experiments. A persistent challenge of this field is to make our models and thus these virtual experiments both realistic and computationally feasible. In the ERC project we will develop open-source, routinely applicable, and exceptionally predictive models and programs for the modeling purposes of a broad computational simulation community.” He added: ”This requires multidisciplinary efforts combining physics-based models, numerical mathematics, data science, high-performance computing, modern algorithm-design, and mostly extensive experience in computational investigation of chemical questions.” The project aims to further develop a program package created by researchers at the Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science of BME applied by hundreds of academic groups all over the world. The new computational models and programs will be utilized both in the ERC project as well as by the users of the programs to better understand experimental observations at an atomic scale, which also contributes to the improvement and design of molecules and materials with desired properties.
More information: https://www.bme.hu/news/20221125/BME_researcher_won_an_ERC_Starting_Grant_award?language=en
If you need support in your ERC application, please feel free to contact the BME Horizon Europe Team at schenk.borbala@bme.hu.