Centre européen de calcul atomique et moléculaire

Introduction

Location of CECAM Nodes (red) and HQ (blue)

European Center for Atomic and Molecular Calculations

Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire
Established	1969
Director	Dominic Tildesley
President of the Scientific Council	Christoph Dellago
Postgraduates	4,267 (2012)
Location	Écublens (near Lausanne), Vaud, Switzerland 46°31′13″N 6°33′56″E / 46.52028°N 6.56556°E / 46.52028; 6.56556Coordinates: 46°31′13″N 6°33′56″E / 46.52028°N 6.56556°E / 46.52028; 6.56556
Campus	www.epfl.ch
Website	www.cecam.org

CECAM

Location: Lausanne, Switzerland

The Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire, CECAM, is the oldest European Institute for the promotion of fundamental research on advanced computational methods and their application to problems in frontier areas of science and technology. It is structured as a network of 18 trans-European nodes plus one node in Israel, with its headquarters (HQ) in EPF-Lausanne.

CECAM is governed by a convention signed by 22 member organizations from which it receives funding for ordinary activities. These organizations include National Research Councils, Research and HPC Centers, and Universities. The long-term policy of CECAM is determined by its Council, composed of representatives of the member organizations. Local Directors ensure the management of scientific activities at the nodes. The Director at HQ has the responsibility to propose the overall program of activities and manage it, and to coordinate larger-scale initiatives in the node network.

Its unique structure and long standing tradition of excellence establish CECAM as a leading edge institution in its field.

Activities

CECAM mission is to promote discussion, exchange of information, and training in computational science. As the name suggests, the traditional focus of CECAM has been atomistic and molecular simulations, applied to the physics and chemistry of condensed matter. Over the last twenty years, powerful advances in computer hardware and software have supported the extension of these methods to a wide range of problems in materials science, biology and medicinal chemistry. CECAM has always been very attentive to such developments and has helped to foster many of them to the point that computer simulation is now considered to be a third way of doing science; a new way of linking theory and experiment. The importance of simulation continues to grow in many emerging areas and CECAM is evolving its scope and structure to address these changes.

CECAM activities, across all of the nodes, include the organization of scientific workshops in emerging areas; specialist schools to train at the graduate and postdoctoral level; workshops on software development; brain-storming and problem solving events; the development of collaborative research projects for Europe and beyond; and the sponsorship of an international visitors programme. We welcome applications to organise events and to establish networks through CECAM from everybody interested in computational science.

Member Organizations

CECAM is supported by research organizations from 11 European countries and Israel. These Organizations are listed in Table 1. Each Member Organization nominates two representatives to the Cecam Council, the governing body that has the ultimate responsibility for all strategy and operations of the Center.

Nodes

Nodes contribute to CECAM activities by organising and hosting workshops and schools at the level of the network (Flagship events) and locally (Node events). They initiate or participate in CECAM research and training activities, host a visitor program and promote research in computational science in their region. A CECAM node is a research structure inside a larger Institution, or a consortium of such Institutions whose activities and relationships are regulated by a formal agreement. The Directors of the nodes administer the program taking place at their respective locations, possibly in collaboration with other nodes or the Headquarters. The Directors constitute the CECAM Board of Directors, working towards a coordinated optimal selection and distribution of activities throughout the network.