MARVEL labs develop a machine learning model for the electron density

NCCR MARVEL’s Michele Ceriotti and Clemence Corminboeuf have joined forces to develop an innovative machine learning model for the electron density. Knowledge of a system’s electron density gives access in principle to all its ground state properties. However, the computations needed to determine the electronic structure from first principles remain costly. A machine learning approach promises to lighten this computational burden significantly.

Intuition and failure are valuable ingredients in chemical research

Researchers from the lab of NCCR MARVEL's deputy director Berend Smit and colleagues have developed a methodology for collecting the lessons learned from partially failed trials and incorrect hypotheses -- the experiments that didn't work. The research was published in Nature Communications.

New device simplifies measurement of fluoride contamination in water

Researcher Kyriakos Stylianou from the lab of NCCR MARVEL's deputy director Berend Smit and colleagues have developed a portable and user-friendly device that can measure fluoride concentration accurately and reliably.

Eyeing potential uses, MARVEL researchers pursue discovery, design of topological materials

Topological materials – unusual materials whose surface properties are different from those in the bulk – have generated significant interest in recent years because of their unique characteristics. Topological insulators, for instance, are electrical insulators in the bulk, but conduct electricity on their surfaces or edges.

Researchers develop a recyclable catalyst that uses CO2 to produce benzimidazoles

Transforming emitted CO2 into valuable products has been proposed as a way of reducing the amount of this greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere—using it as a raw material could help both close the carbon cycle and reduce the consumption of petrochemicals. Dr. Kyriakos C. Stylianou of EPFL and NCCR MARVEL and EPFL's Professor Paul Dyson have developed a recyclable catalyst that can be used to produce valuable products. The research has been published in Angewandte Chemie.

New Material from MARVEL Lab Cleans and Splits Water

Researchers from the lab of NCCR MARVEL's deputy director Berend Smit and colleagues have developed a photocatalytic system that is based on a material in the class of metal-organic frameworks. The system can be used to degrade pollutants present in water while simultaneously producing hydrogen that can be captured and used further. The research was published in Advanced Functional Materials.

Study shows pressure induces unusually high electrical conductivity in polyiodide

A study into the effects of high mechanical pressure on the polyiodide TEAI showed that it brings unusually high electrical conductivity starting from insulating state, suggesting that the material may be useful as a switchable semiconductor. This system could represent an alternative to gel electrolytes and ionic liquids in dye-synthesized solar cells. The paper, Pressure-induced Polymerization and Electrical Conductivity of a Polyiodide, has been published as a Very Important Paper in Angewandte Chemie.

NCCR MARVEL / CECAM team win EPFL Open Science Fund award

A team made up of Giovanni Pizzi from NCCR MARVEL and Sara Bonella and Ignacio Pagonabarraga from the Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire (CECAM) won an EPFL Open Science Fund to build an open, collaborative online hub to host simulation and data-analysis tools. The project — called OSSCAR (Open Software Services for Classrooms and Research) — will effectively create an open-science environment that offers software tools as easy-to-use services requiring little or no setup time. 

Two papers from NCCR MARVEL researchers make JCP Editor's Choice 2018 list

NCCR MARVEL director Nicola Marzari and Anatole von Lilienfeld, project leader of Incubator Project 2, were both cited in the Journal of Chemical Physics's Editor's Choice 2018 list, a selection of the JCP articles presenting significant and definitive research in experimental and theoretical areas of the field.  

NCCR MARVEL's Spaldin named foreign member of the U.S.'s National Academy of Engineering (NAE)

NCCR MARVEL project leader Nicola Spaldin of ETHZ has been named a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering in the United States.  

MARVEL Junior Seminar — March 2019

Welcome to the 23rd MARVEL Junior Seminar on Thursday March 14, 2019, 12:15 pm, EPFL, room MED 0 1418. Chiara Ricca (Uni Bern) and Stefan Heinen (Uni Basel) will present their research. The seminar is chaired by Davide Campi.

EPFL Finals of "My Thesis in 180 Seconds"

Join us to the cheer on the two NCCR MARVEL members participating in the EPFL finals of "My Thesis in 180 Seconds," an international contest asking competitors to present his or her research, in plain language, to a non-specialist audience and a jury made up of researchers, journalists and business people in just three minutes.   

International Women’s Day — 50 years of EPFL women

EPFL Alumni and EPFL's Equal Opportunities Office invite you to celebrate the International Women’s Day on Friday 8 March at the Forum Rolex. The event will look back on "50 years of EPFL women" and will offer testimonies from 5 generations of women graduates.

Julie Birenbaum - the light painting artist - at ETH Zurich

The Materials Theory Group of ETH Zurich and the NCCR MARVEL have the pleasure to present Julie Birenbaum, the light painting artist, for a unique exhibition at ETH Zurich Hönggerberg.

Ig Nobel Award Tour Show 2019

On Monday March 25, EPFL will welcome for the fourth time the Ig Nobel Award Tour Show, with Marc Abrahams and a line-up of Ig Nobel Prize winners, with the support of the NCCR MARVEL.