Roberto Car

Prof. Roberto Car is a distinguished physicist at Princeton University, holding the title of Ralph W. *31 Dornte Professor in Chemistry. He is also a faculty member at the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials. His career has spanned several esteemed institutions, including positions at the University of Milan, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center, SISSA in Trieste, and the University of Geneva.

Car's research interests are vast, encompassing chemical physics, materials science, electronic structure theory, and ab-initio molecular dynamics. He focuses on computer modeling and simulation of solids, liquids, disordered systems, molecular structures, structural phase transitions, and chemical reactions. His research aims to understand atomistic and electronic structure and dynamics in materials, employing theoretical and numerical simulation tools to predict physical and chemical processes.

One of Prof. Car's most notable contributions to science is the development of the Car-Parrinello method in 1985, alongside Michele Parrinello. This innovative approach combines quantum mechanical density functional theory with methods of molecular dynamics for the simulation of classical atomic movements, finding widespread application across various scientific disciplines.

Throughout his illustrious career, Prof. Car has received numerous honors and awards. These include election to the National Academy of Sciences (2016), the National Award in Theoretical Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (2016), the Enrico Fermi Prize of the Italian Physical Society (2012), and the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry by the Franklin Institute in 2020. Other accolades include the Humboldt Research Award for Senior U.S. Scientists (2009), the Dirac Medal and Prize of the ICTP (2008), and the Hewlett-Packard Prize of the European Physical Society (1990), among others.