This grant provides funding for the Foundations of Molecular Modeling and Simulation (FOMMS) 2012 conference to be held in Welches, Oregon July 22 - 26, 2012. The conference will emphasize the latest developments in computational quantum and classical simulation methods, as well as their application to discovery and data driven applications in science and engineering. The grant will be used to support participant costs for the meeting, facilitating attendance by researchers who might otherwise be unable to attend the conference, including junior faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and under-represented minorities. The conference features an outstanding and diverse slate of 18 renowned innovators in and practitioners of molecular modeling and simulation from the US, Europe, and Japan who have accepted invitations to present plenary talks over the 4.5 day conference. Additionally, workshops on open source molecular simulation codes and on the use of molecular simulation methods in education will be conducted. Participants will be encouraged to present their latest work in one of two poster sessions.
The FOMMS 2012 conference will broadly impact researchers and students who develop or use molecular-based modeling and simulation tools in academia and industry. The conference format and venue provide ample time and opportunity for interaction among participants, cross-fertilization of disciplines, and mentoring of young researchers.
5th International Conference on Foundations of Molecular Modeling and Simulation FOMMS 2012 Foundations for Discovery and Data Edward Maginn, Chair (University of Notre Dame) Kristen Fichthorn, co-Chair (Pennsylvania State University) J. Ilja Siepmann, co-Chair (University of Minnesota) The 5th triennial FOMMS conference was held July 22-26, 2012 at the Resort at the Mountain, near Mount Hood, Oregon. A total of 129 participants and 11 guests took part in the meeting, which focused on showcasing the latest developments in the use of molecular modeling and simulation in both fundamental and applied application areas. After the opening evening reception on July 22, Prof. Matthias Scheffler of the Fritz-Haber Institute in Germany gave the opening keynote lecture entitled "Role of van der Waals Interactions in Physics, Chemistry and Biology". On Monday, Prof. Mike Greenfield (University of Rhode Island), Dr. Bruce Murch (Procter and Gamble) and Dr. Edward Seidel (National Science Foundation) gave presentations in a session focused on "Cyberinfrastructure and Future Trends". A second session called "Multi-Resolution Modeling" featured talks by Prof. Sharon Hammes-Schiffer (Penn State) and Jhih Wei Chu (University of California, Berkeley). The first contributed poster session also occurred on Monday, with over 50 posters being presented. On Tuesday, Prof. Phil Westmoreland (North Carolina State), Dr. Krzysztof Moorthi (Mitsui Chemicals) and Prof. Claire Adjiman (Imperial College London) spoke in the "Products and Process Design" session. Participants took Tuesday afternoon off to enjoy group outings, including a waterfall tour, whitewater rafting, hiking, wine tasting and fly fishing. Please note that participants paid all the costs of the outings from personal funds. We went back to work Tuesday evening, with a workshop on "Software Suites and Application Interfaces". There were short presentations made by Dr. Wibe De Jong (NWChem), Prof. Matthias Scheffler (FHI-aims software), Dr. George Fitzgerald (Accelrys), Dr. Hannes Schweiger (Materials Design), Dr. Lalitha Subramanian (Scienomics), Dr. Paul Crozier (LAMMPS) and Dr. Shyamal Nath (Culgi). Following this, participants engaged in a lively and spirited exchange on the merits of different packages, the future of modeling software, and best practices. Wednesday began with talks on "Energy and Environment" by Prof. David Sholl (Georgia Institute of Technology), Prof. Fumio Hirata (Institute for Molecular Science, Japan) and Dr. Bruce Garrett (Pacific Northwest Laboratory). The second poster session (again with about 50 poster presentations) took place Wednesday afternoon and the day ended with evening presentations in the "Life Sciences" session by Prof. Sarah Price (University College – London) and Prof. Joan Emma Shea (University of California, Santa Barbara). The final day of FOMMS 2012 began with a session on "Complex Fluids" in which Prof. Mark Asta (University of California, Berkeley), Prof. Juan de Pablo (University of Wisconsin) and Prof. Pablo Debenedetti (Princeton University) all gave outstanding talks. The afternoon was dedicated to the second conference workshop, with the theme being "Validation of Simulations". Prof. Ellad Tadmor (University of Minnesota) and Prof. Michael Shirts (University of Virginia) challenged the participants to think of ways in which simulation methods and results can be better validated, archived, and trusted. The conference ended with the presentation of the FOMMS Medal to Prof. Keith Gubbins of North Carolina State University, who gave a talk entitled "Molecular Modeling and Simulation of Confined Nano-Phases". Following this, the traditional FOMMS movie was screened (www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sWSBttSf4c) and the conference ended with a wonderful outdoor banquet on the grounds of the resort. Overall, FOMMS 2012 was a great success. We are especially grateful to the National Science Foundation, whose grant enabled us to award 30 graduate student / postdoc fellowships that enabled may people to attend the meeting who otherwise would not have been able to do so. Other sponsors include Accelrys, Procter and Gamble, Scienomics, Materials Design, and Culgi. At the end of the meeting, participants were given surveys to fill out so they could provide feedback on the meeting. People had many favorable comments on the location, the speakers, and the format. Participants seemed most appreciative of the ample time scheduled into the program for informal meetings and interactions, the quality of the speakers and the poster sessions. They also loved the venue! At the end of the meeting, Prof. Randy Snurr of Northwestern University agreed that, pending approval by CACHE, he would take on the role of Chair for FOMMS 2015.
