Computational Chemistry and Fundamentals of Computer Science
Acquire a basic knowledge of the main aspects of computational chemistry and teach to the student the use of some basic software (Open Source).
Introduction to the use of computers and computer networks. Introductions to the basic methods of computational chemistry and outline of advanced methods of thecomputational chemistry
- Introduction to computer science
- Modern computer architecture
- Use of the terminal
- Short digression on basic aspects of computer science, digitization and cryptography
- Introduction molecular structure representation
- HF SCF method
- Introduction to the basic sets
- PES and geometry optimization (numerical derivatives)
- MM methods outline of molecular dynamics
- QM / MM outline and conformer search (MonteCarlo and Genetic Algorithms)
- DFT method and notes on Post-Hartree-Fock methods
- IR spectra simulation
- Molecular properties.
Introduction to Computer Science: Computer architecture and the CPU; the
input/output peripherals; computer memory; the operating system; examples
of HPC infrastructures for scientific computing; use of the linux terminal; basics
of bash scripting; computer representation of molecular structures; the Protein
Data Bank.
Computational Chemistry: introduction to computational chemistry; potential
energy surfaces; geometry optimization and conformational search; Molecular
Mechanics; Hartree-Fock method; LCAO and basis sets; basics of the
multiconfigurational methods; semiempirical methods; density functional
theory (DFT); calculation of molecular properties; simulation of IR spectra;
solvation models; main aspects of ab initio methods for the study of biological
systems (QM / MM and FMO).
- “Approccio qualitativo alla Chimica computazionale”, Marco Bortoluzzi,
ARACNE Editrice.
- “Essentials of Computational Chemistry - Theories and Models”,
Christopher J. Cramer, Wiley.
- “Chimica Fisica”, Peter William Atkins, Julio de Paula & James Keeler,
Zanichelli.
- “Informatica di base” (VII ed.), Dennis Curtin, Kim Foley, Kunal Sen,
Cathy Morin, Agostino Marengo, Alessandro Pagano, McGraw Hill.
Lessons combined with practical exercises that will show the use of all the basic techniques described, using only Open-Source software.
The exam includes a computer test. Given a molecular structure, the student is asked to determine some properties and observables of the structure itself (for example energy calculation, structure minimization and other properties). An open-ended written question will also be presented.