Research Summary
Current research in the Scuseria group straddles between quantum chemistry, condensed matter physics, and materials science, focusing on novel methods for electronic structure theory, particularly strong correlation, and applications to molecules and materials of importance for energy and the environment.
Biography
Gustavo E. Scuseria is the Robert A. Welch Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering. Professor Scuseria was born in Argentina and is a naturalized US citizen. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Buenos Aires in 1983. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Georgia before joining the faculty at Rice in 1989.
Professor Scuseria’s main research field is computational quantum chemistry, an area in which he has made seminal contributions to the development of new methodologies, particularly in coupled-cluster and density-functional theories, and their application to molecules, solids, and nanoscale systems. Scuseria is also well known for his contributions to the Gaussian suite of programs, a popular software package for quantum chemistry calculations on molecules and solids used in academia, government, and industry. He is the author of more than 500 publications that have received over 122,000 citations in Web of Science and over 280,000 citations in Google Scholar, including software products. His h-index is 126. Scuseria has presented more than 400 invited lectures at international conferences at academic and research institutions all over the world, including named lectures such as the Xingda Lectureship (Peking University), Ede Kapuy Memorial Lecture (Eötvös Loránd University), Pitzer Lecture (Ohio State University), Peter Pulay Lecture (U of Arkansas), Distinguished Israel Pollak Lecturer (Technion), Lise Meitner Minerva Lectureship Award (Tel Aviv University), MARVEL Distinguished Lecture (EPFL, Lausanne), Moses Gomberg (U of Michigan), Eolo Scrocco Colloquium (U of Pisa), CUSO lecture Series (Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, Fribourg), and Robert S. Mulliken (U of Georgia).
He is currently the President of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (2023-2026), and Fellow of the American Chemical Society, American Physical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Guggenheim Foundation, and Royal Society of Chemistry.
He has received numerous major awards, including the 2024 Aneesur Rahman Prize for Computational Physics (American Physical Society), 2024 MRS Theory Award (Materials Research Society), 2024 WATOC Schrödinger Medal (World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists), 2022 ACS National Award in Theoretical Chemistry (American Chemical Society), 2017 Boys-Rahman Award (UK Royal Society of Chemistry), 2015 Humboldt Research Award, and 2010 Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology Theory.
Scuseria was co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, published by the American Chemical Society (2006-2021), member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Max-Planck Institute for Solid State Research (2015-2022), and member of the Scientific Advisory Board on the Many Electrons Initiative of the Simons Foundation (2015-2022). He has organized international conferences and workshops, reviewed for numerous journals and funding agencies, and participated on multiple editorial boards.
Professional Activities
President, International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (2023-2026)
Co-Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation (2006-2021)
Scientific Advisory Board: Simons Foundation, Many-Electron Initiative (2014-2022)
Scientific Advisory Board: Max-Planck Institute for Solid State Research (2015-2022)
Vice President, International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (2012-2018)
Vice Chair, Chemistry Department, Rice University (2008-2013)
Consultant, Gaussian Inc. (since 1993)