Volker Blum
@aimsduke.bsky.social
Ab initio materials simulations at Duke University. Associate professor, Duke MEMS & Chemistry. https://aims.pratt.duke.edu/ . Opinions my own. Unlike the shirt on the right side of the profile image, which is not my own. The number on the shirt is 10.
Forgot #chemsky #compchemsky
Weitao Yang kicking off our HybriD3 Materials Theory workshop this morning, with 60+ participants from the Carolinas, Virginia and elsewhere. Thank you!
November 21, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Forgot #chemsky #compchemsky
Weitao Yang kicking off our HybriD3 Materials Theory workshop this morning, with 60+ participants from the Carolinas, Virginia and elsewhere. Thank you!
November 21, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Weitao Yang kicking off our HybriD3 Materials Theory workshop this morning, with 60+ participants from the Carolinas, Virginia and elsewhere. Thank you!
The big day of our HybriD3 Theory Training Workshop is almost here!
hybrid3.duke.edu/workshops/20...
Thank you to everyone who is coming and looking forward to seeing you there! Thank you to NSF-DMREF, NCShare & Rhodes IID for support!
hybrid3.duke.edu/workshops/20...
Thank you to everyone who is coming and looking forward to seeing you there! Thank you to NSF-DMREF, NCShare & Rhodes IID for support!
2025 HybriD3 Materials Theory Training Workshop
The 2025 HybriD3 Theory Training Workshop will be held at Duke University on November 21 and 22, 2025. The workshop is aimed at graduate students and postdocs entering the field; senior undergraduate ...
hybrid3.duke.edu
November 21, 2025 at 12:46 AM
The big day of our HybriD3 Theory Training Workshop is almost here!
hybrid3.duke.edu/workshops/20...
Thank you to everyone who is coming and looking forward to seeing you there! Thank you to NSF-DMREF, NCShare & Rhodes IID for support!
hybrid3.duke.edu/workshops/20...
Thank you to everyone who is coming and looking forward to seeing you there! Thank you to NSF-DMREF, NCShare & Rhodes IID for support!
As far as the masked individuals in unmarked cars (my first post): I have not met them. But I have seen some videos from Durham, North Carolina, my home town. So this is close enough for me to comment. As I said, my firm view is that this needs to stop.
The point is that this practice of sowing fear needs to stop.
Now. I am actually a citizen. But because of Justice Kavanaugh's words, technically I can be profiled. And no, the current profiling, as reported, does not appear to target me. But that does not make things better.
Now. I am actually a citizen. But because of Justice Kavanaugh's words, technically I can be profiled. And no, the current profiling, as reported, does not appear to target me. But that does not make things better.
I have never lived in an America where immigrants needed to be afraid to be rounded up by masked individuals in unmarked cars according to their looks and their accents. I am not likely to be profiled. I think. But I carry my passport, as I always have.
November 20, 2025 at 2:01 AM
As far as the masked individuals in unmarked cars (my first post): I have not met them. But I have seen some videos from Durham, North Carolina, my home town. So this is close enough for me to comment. As I said, my firm view is that this needs to stop.
The point is that this practice of sowing fear needs to stop.
Now. I am actually a citizen. But because of Justice Kavanaugh's words, technically I can be profiled. And no, the current profiling, as reported, does not appear to target me. But that does not make things better.
Now. I am actually a citizen. But because of Justice Kavanaugh's words, technically I can be profiled. And no, the current profiling, as reported, does not appear to target me. But that does not make things better.
I have never lived in an America where immigrants needed to be afraid to be rounded up by masked individuals in unmarked cars according to their looks and their accents. I am not likely to be profiled. I think. But I carry my passport, as I always have.
November 20, 2025 at 1:57 AM
The point is that this practice of sowing fear needs to stop.
Now. I am actually a citizen. But because of Justice Kavanaugh's words, technically I can be profiled. And no, the current profiling, as reported, does not appear to target me. But that does not make things better.
Now. I am actually a citizen. But because of Justice Kavanaugh's words, technically I can be profiled. And no, the current profiling, as reported, does not appear to target me. But that does not make things better.
I have never lived in an America where immigrants needed to be afraid to be rounded up by masked individuals in unmarked cars according to their looks and their accents. I am not likely to be profiled. I think. But I carry my passport, as I always have.
November 20, 2025 at 1:54 AM
I have never lived in an America where immigrants needed to be afraid to be rounded up by masked individuals in unmarked cars according to their looks and their accents. I am not likely to be profiled. I think. But I carry my passport, as I always have.
Happy to see this tonight. Go TACC & NSF!
Installation has officially begun on Horizon, which will be the nation’s largest academic supercomputer, marking a major milestone for the U.S. NSF Leadership-Class Computing Facility at TACC. 🚀🔬🪐
Learn more: bit.ly/4oEoDBs
Learn more: bit.ly/4oEoDBs
NSF LCCF Horizon Supercomputer To Power Breakthroughs for the Nation’s Leading Scientists
Installation of nation’s largest academic supercomputer begins, ushering in a new era of open science and discovery
bit.ly
November 18, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Happy to see this tonight. Go TACC & NSF!
Happy to be part of this new paper today, with a pretty cool effect ... at room temperature, if one excited this material with circularly polarized light, the electrons/holes in the material "remember" for quite some time, as seen in subsequent emission.
doi.org/10.1002/adfm...
doi.org/10.1002/adfm...
Thermally Activated Circularly Polarized Photoluminescence in a 2D Hybrid Perovskite with Giant Spin Splitting
We demonstrate large circularly polarized emission in polar achiral 2D halide perovskites excited with circular polarization. This thermally activated ‘spin memory’ reaches 19% polarization at 350 K,....
doi.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Happy to be part of this new paper today, with a pretty cool effect ... at room temperature, if one excited this material with circularly polarized light, the electrons/holes in the material "remember" for quite some time, as seen in subsequent emission.
doi.org/10.1002/adfm...
doi.org/10.1002/adfm...
And with some clouds …
November 12, 2025 at 2:21 AM
And with some clouds …
Aurora North Carolinensis tonight.
November 12, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Aurora North Carolinensis tonight.
The 2025 MDAnalysis User Group Meeting wrapped up. If you want to see what great talks and workshops we had, have a look at the UGM2025 repo github.com/MDAnalysis/U... . It was fantastic to have so many of you in Arizona and joining online! See you all again soon.
November 12, 2025 at 12:45 AM
I wonder if I should post more routinely that we do have monthly video meetings for anyone in the @fhi-aims.bsky.social community.
The next one is tomorrow, Nov 12, 8:30 am EST. Time and coordinates are routinely posted in the Slack workspace.
#compchemsky (in case any FHI-aims users are there)
The next one is tomorrow, Nov 12, 8:30 am EST. Time and coordinates are routinely posted in the Slack workspace.
#compchemsky (in case any FHI-aims users are there)
November 11, 2025 at 1:44 PM
I wonder if I should post more routinely that we do have monthly video meetings for anyone in the @fhi-aims.bsky.social community.
The next one is tomorrow, Nov 12, 8:30 am EST. Time and coordinates are routinely posted in the Slack workspace.
#compchemsky (in case any FHI-aims users are there)
The next one is tomorrow, Nov 12, 8:30 am EST. Time and coordinates are routinely posted in the Slack workspace.
#compchemsky (in case any FHI-aims users are there)
Reposted by Volker Blum
Tandem perovskite solar cells tested by the US DoD for resiliency against cyberattacks.
cleantechnica.com/2025/11/08/t...
#solar #perovskitesolar #perovskite #solarcells #pv #nationalguard #usmilitary #resiliency #startups #innovation #affordablesolar #dod #defense #renewableenergy #energy #energy
cleantechnica.com/2025/11/08/t...
#solar #perovskitesolar #perovskite #solarcells #pv #nationalguard #usmilitary #resiliency #startups #innovation #affordablesolar #dod #defense #renewableenergy #energy #energy
The Rise Of Perovskite Solar Cells, The Fall Of Fossil Fuels
The US DoD is testing tandem perovskite solar cells paired with silicon to improve efficiency, durability, and overall performance.
cleantechnica.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Tandem perovskite solar cells tested by the US DoD for resiliency against cyberattacks.
cleantechnica.com/2025/11/08/t...
#solar #perovskitesolar #perovskite #solarcells #pv #nationalguard #usmilitary #resiliency #startups #innovation #affordablesolar #dod #defense #renewableenergy #energy #energy
cleantechnica.com/2025/11/08/t...
#solar #perovskitesolar #perovskite #solarcells #pv #nationalguard #usmilitary #resiliency #startups #innovation #affordablesolar #dod #defense #renewableenergy #energy #energy
In other news, my (routine) eye exam improved my outlook so much, this evening. Rainbows everywhere. (Each light source. Aka dilated pupils, following the exam.) And happy to confirm that green light is only a single spectral line, white light a broad spectrum. No need for a prism tonight.
November 10, 2025 at 11:45 PM
In other news, my (routine) eye exam improved my outlook so much, this evening. Rainbows everywhere. (Each light source. Aka dilated pupils, following the exam.) And happy to confirm that green light is only a single spectral line, white light a broad spectrum. No need for a prism tonight.
Good reminder. Important in science.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
When you know who you are, what you value and work towards, you realize it is not necessary.
This mindset gives you the peace&space to sincerely cheer for other people. Because they are in their lane. Not yours.
#MondayMotivation
#mentalhealth
#chemsky #matsky
When you know who you are, what you value and work towards, you realize it is not necessary.
This mindset gives you the peace&space to sincerely cheer for other people. Because they are in their lane. Not yours.
#MondayMotivation
#mentalhealth
#chemsky #matsky
November 10, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Good reminder. Important in science.
Reposted by Volker Blum
Our MDAnalysis User Group Meeting 2025 is in full swing in sunny Arizona ! www.mdanalysis.org/pages/ugm2025/
November 10, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Our MDAnalysis User Group Meeting 2025 is in full swing in sunny Arizona ! www.mdanalysis.org/pages/ugm2025/
They did it! 🎉 Our Duke Pratt School of Engineering first-year engineers (and my 360 advisees - I'm just the advisor) successfully freed me from an elf-themed escape room with 15 minutes to spare. Amazing. (And future engineering is in good hands.)
November 9, 2025 at 6:52 PM
They did it! 🎉 Our Duke Pratt School of Engineering first-year engineers (and my 360 advisees - I'm just the advisor) successfully freed me from an elf-themed escape room with 15 minutes to spare. Amazing. (And future engineering is in good hands.)
Reposted by Volker Blum
November 8, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Congratulations to @wentao-zhang.bsky.social , who passed his prelim exam with flying colors. No picture (should have thought of that) but truly remarkable work!
November 6, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Congratulations to @wentao-zhang.bsky.social , who passed his prelim exam with flying colors. No picture (should have thought of that) but truly remarkable work!
I cannot write about this but the reposted post below concerns a deeply painful, awful legacy of my hometown. This is in German and the full story is also here:
www.ns-euthanasie-erlangen.de/de/geschicht...
Thank you to those at @fau.de and elsewhere for the difficult work of creating a memorial.
www.ns-euthanasie-erlangen.de/de/geschicht...
Thank you to those at @fau.de and elsewhere for the difficult work of creating a memorial.
October 16, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I cannot write about this but the reposted post below concerns a deeply painful, awful legacy of my hometown. This is in German and the full story is also here:
www.ns-euthanasie-erlangen.de/de/geschicht...
Thank you to those at @fau.de and elsewhere for the difficult work of creating a memorial.
www.ns-euthanasie-erlangen.de/de/geschicht...
Thank you to those at @fau.de and elsewhere for the difficult work of creating a memorial.
This find on BlueSky made me happy tonight!
At the Center for Computational and Digital Health Innovation, we’re advancing technology with purpose.
Proud to spotlight Cameron Kim, who’s shaping the future of ethical digital health innovation and preparing the next generation of leaders.
comphealth.duke.edu/featured-res...
Proud to spotlight Cameron Kim, who’s shaping the future of ethical digital health innovation and preparing the next generation of leaders.
comphealth.duke.edu/featured-res...
October 15, 2025 at 10:41 PM
This find on BlueSky made me happy tonight!
Reposted by Volker Blum
Are you an US-based undergraduate student interested in materials science?
I am thrilled to announce the 3rd edition of our #MateriAlZ Winter School held at Biosphere 2, Oracle, AZ (Jan 4-8, 2026). Free of charge!
Please apply by October 31st, 2025: bit.ly/materialz2026
I am thrilled to announce the 3rd edition of our #MateriAlZ Winter School held at Biosphere 2, Oracle, AZ (Jan 4-8, 2026). Free of charge!
Please apply by October 31st, 2025: bit.ly/materialz2026
October 15, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Are you an US-based undergraduate student interested in materials science?
I am thrilled to announce the 3rd edition of our #MateriAlZ Winter School held at Biosphere 2, Oracle, AZ (Jan 4-8, 2026). Free of charge!
Please apply by October 31st, 2025: bit.ly/materialz2026
I am thrilled to announce the 3rd edition of our #MateriAlZ Winter School held at Biosphere 2, Oracle, AZ (Jan 4-8, 2026). Free of charge!
Please apply by October 31st, 2025: bit.ly/materialz2026
This is a pretty remarkable graph - especially it seems to match the value quoted to me in around 1985, when I was a teenager. My source then was a science book, by Isaac Asimov, who, yes, was a scientist. www.amazon.de/exakten-Gehe...
If anyone still has the book, would be interesting to check.
If anyone still has the book, would be interesting to check.
October 11, 2025 at 3:05 PM
This is a pretty remarkable graph - especially it seems to match the value quoted to me in around 1985, when I was a teenager. My source then was a science book, by Isaac Asimov, who, yes, was a scientist. www.amazon.de/exakten-Gehe...
If anyone still has the book, would be interesting to check.
If anyone still has the book, would be interesting to check.
For anyone near the Research Triangle (North Carolina): The groups of Yosuke Kanai and ours will be organizing a Theory Training Workshop - primarily intended for incoming graduate students or postdoc but open to anyone (subject to capacity):
hybrid3.duke.edu/workshops/20...
#chemsky #compchemsky
hybrid3.duke.edu/workshops/20...
#chemsky #compchemsky
2025 HybriD3 Materials Theory Training Workshop
The 2025 HybriD3 Theory Training Workshop will be held at Duke University on November 21 and 22, 2025. The workshop is aimed at graduate students and postdocs entering the field; senior undergraduate ...
hybrid3.duke.edu
October 4, 2025 at 1:46 PM
For anyone near the Research Triangle (North Carolina): The groups of Yosuke Kanai and ours will be organizing a Theory Training Workshop - primarily intended for incoming graduate students or postdoc but open to anyone (subject to capacity):
hybrid3.duke.edu/workshops/20...
#chemsky #compchemsky
hybrid3.duke.edu/workshops/20...
#chemsky #compchemsky
October 3, 2025 at 10:28 PM