A program for the conference can be viewed here.
A symposium on the Chemistry and Physics of the Heavy Elements will be held June 20-22, 2012 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is a satellite symposium of the 14th International Congress of Quantum Chemistry to be held in Boulder, Colorado the following week. There will be approximately 30 invited speakers plus a poster session and banquet.
The electronic structure of many of the molecules and materials whose electrons occupy f-orbitals has long been a challenge for theory, principally due to the need to include relativistic effects adequately. Most of these issues are finally well in hand, and the principal challenge now is the adequate treatment of electron correlation. This is a particularly thorny problem in this region of the periodic table because the limited spatial extent of the f-orbitals leads to weak overlap with neighboring ligands. Therefore these systems often find themselves poised on the border between qualitatively different behavior; e.g., ionic vs. covalent bonding, Mott insulators vs. correlated metals. Progress in this field requires close collaboration between theory and experiment and both will be represented.
Session topics
- Structure and Bonding
- Strong Correlations
- Organoactinide Chemistry
- Spectroscopy
- Separations and Chemistry in Solution
Travel Support
There will be limited support for students available. If interested in a grant, please email the organizers with a request and explanation of your need.
For more information concerning the conference, contact:
Richard L. Martin
Enrique R. Batista
