T. Daniel Crawford

T. Daniel Crawford is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech, where he also holds the Ethyl Chair of Chemistry. He serves as the Director of the Molecular Sciences Software Institute and is a Deputy Editor for the Journal of Physical Chemistry A. His research focuses on the development of quantum chemical models, specifically many-body methods like perturbation theory and coupled cluster theory. His work is crucial for accurately simulating chiroptical properties and for the development of PSI4, a suite of quantum chemical programs.

Under his leadership, the Crawford Lab at Virginia Tech focuses on advancing the state-of-the-art in quantum chemical models. His team is heavily involved in developing Psi4, the ab-initio quantum chemistry package, and contributing to Psi4NumPy, an interactive quantum chemistry computing environment. They also maintain a series of C++ programming tutorials in quantum chemistry, demonstrating Crawford's commitment to education and training in the field.

Crawford has been elected to two prestigious international organizations: the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Sciences (IAQMS) and the governing board of the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists (WATOC). These elections underscore his global recognition and contributions to the field of quantum molecular sciences.

Crawford's contributions to quantum chemistry have earned him Virginia's highest faculty honor, the 2024 Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), recognizing his standards of teaching, scholarship, and service. This prestigious award highlights his significant impact on both Virginia Tech and the wider academic and scientific communities.

His educational background includes a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics from Duke University and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. His academic career is marked by a Cottrell Scholar and Cottrell STAR awards from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, the Dirac Medal of the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists, and fellowship in the American Chemical Society.