Marco Fornari
Department of Physics and Science of Advanced Materials Program, Central Michigan University, USA
Abstract: The discovery of new materials and new optimization paths relies on data and analysis tools. Data must be generated efficiently, verified and validated, organized, and shared; tools need to strike a balance between efficiency and accuracy and ultimately aid scientists to unveil hidden relationships. I will review methodological advances, software innovations, and materials discoveries from recent work within the AFLOW consortium (aflow.org) as starting points to assess if the goals of the “materials genome initiative” have been met. The talk will stress the concept of properties descriptors to link computable quantities with functionalities of interest aiming to provide a structure to scientists’ intuition.
Prof. Fornari is a professor in the Department of Physics at Central Michigan University. He studied in Pavia and Trieste (Italy) earning a doctoral degree in 1998. He worked as a research associate at the Naval Research Laboratory (Washington DC) until 2001 and served as Program Officer at the National Science Foundation in the Division of Materials Research in 2009. He’s an active member of the AFLOW consortium. Fornari’s interests include thermoelectric, piezoelectric, and photovoltaic materials, as well as biominerals. His studies aim to unravel the origin of macroscopic functionalities using high-throughput electronic structure methods.