On exchange with eSSENCE: Valera Veryazov

Valera Veryazov, Professor of Theoretical Chemistry at Lund University, recently visited Umeå University as part of the eSSENCE exchange program. During his stay, he collaborated with Professor Paolo Bientinesi’s group, connecting expertise in high-performance computing with advanced quantum chemistry research.

How has the eSSENCE Exchange collaboration contributed to your network?

The visit to Umeå University and Prof. Paolo Bientinesi’s group gave me the opportunity to expand my network within the HPC and numerical methods community. I gave three seminars on different aspects of my work — (i) properties of the density matrix, (ii) parallelization of multiconfigurational codes, and (iii) design of pseudo-atoms for cluster embedding — which led to several useful discussions and new contacts.

How has the collaboration contributed to your research?

Through the exchange, I gained access to the HPC2N computing facilities, which are essential for testing and developing the parallel versions of the codes I co-develop. The feedback I received during discussions was extremely valuable and will guide further improvements.

What do you hope the collaboration will lead to in the long term?

I hope this collaboration will develop into a lasting exchange of knowledge between our groups, especially in high-performance computing and quantum chemistry applications. The main challenge for continuing the work is the limited manpower currently available for these projects.