Volker Blum
banner
aimsduke.bsky.social
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.
…. And Mengen Wang on Machine learning of defects in semiconductors - thank you!
November 22, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Yosuke Kanai starting off the second day of our HybriD3 Theory Training Workshop. Molecular and electronic dynamics. Happy to see everyone back on a Saturday at 9 am. The future of our field is bright :) #compchemsky
November 22, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Olivier Delaire in a packed room, capturing electrons and phonons in solids.
November 21, 2025 at 4:51 PM
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
And with some clouds …
November 12, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Aurora North Carolinensis tonight.
November 12, 2025 at 2:19 AM
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
Truly happy to have been part of Danish Khan‘s excellent „defense“ (it was a rout!) at U of Toronto, with wonderful hospitality by Doktorvater Anatole von Lilienfeld, Alastair Price (photo) and the entire group.
September 11, 2025 at 10:52 AM
September 7, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Congrats to our graduates, who worked really hard to get to this day. And if you think that our lives are about wearing hoods, caps and tassels, then come visit on a different day. We work very hard for leadership in science, technology, innovation. That is what we do.
May 10, 2025 at 3:35 PM
First snow in about three years (1076 days, I am told). Enjoying the view while it lasts.
January 11, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Perovskites and mengxia liu attracting a crowd at #mrs
December 2, 2024 at 4:14 PM
In Todd Martinez Pariser-Parr Lecture at UNC today. Very impressive. And very enjoyable conversation prior to lecture. Thanks!
#chemsky
November 14, 2024 at 6:00 PM
Here is mine. I'll need to think about this one a bit ... some unconventional molecules there ...
November 10, 2024 at 5:10 AM
October 31, 2024 at 10:37 PM
Still in Telluride. What an amazing spot for science.
October 2, 2024 at 1:18 PM
It is. With excellent science meetings at TSRC. :) All in amazing yellow today from the aspen trees that decorate the village and the mountains.
September 29, 2024 at 9:03 PM
1,407,100 - keep growing ...
September 18, 2024 at 3:52 AM


Congratulations to Gabrielle Koknat, who successfully defended her PhD thesis on July 26, 2024!
July 27, 2024 at 6:57 PM
At Society for Industrial and Applied Math SIAM-MS24 in Pittsburgh and very grateful to the Minisymposium organizers Fabian Faulstich and Amartya Banerjee for including me. And wonderful lunch with great colleagues. Thank you to everyone whose software & hard work drives this community.
May 19, 2024 at 5:51 PM
And one more thank you to Alberto Garcia, for a very enjoyable meeting here in Barcelona and for pushing ELSI forward.
March 8, 2024 at 11:08 AM
After a long flight. It must be Barcelona.
March 3, 2024 at 9:35 PM
Amazing! I can't believe this worked! (this one is the wordcloud from my Google Scholar page)
February 12, 2024 at 11:39 PM
On the way to today’s team meeting of our NSF DMREF project, at NC State in Raleigh. Understanding coherent quantum phenomena in hybrid perovskites. So happy to have a working train and work on the train.
January 30, 2024 at 6:24 PM
Grateful for group and visitors- group dinner last night, after a remarkable year. Thank you all!
November 30, 2023 at 11:46 PM