Tulane physicist Jianwei Sun named American Physical Society Fellow

Tulane University physicist Jianwei Sun, whose computational research is helping scientists predict the properties of complex materials and accelerate the search for new discoveries, has been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society, one of the field's most selective honors.

Sun, professor of physics and engineering physics at Tulane University School of Science and Engineering, was selected by the APS Division of Computational Physics for developing the SCAN density functional, a method used to calculate the behavior of electrons in materials and molecules and demonstrating its ability to computationally predict the structure, bonding energetics, magnetism and band gaps of a wide range of materials.

"Jianwei's SCAN functional is used by researchers around the world to predict how materials behave, and this fellowship recognizes the lasting value of that contribution," said Hridesh Rajan, dean of the School of Science and Engineering. "His Genesis Mission work with Oak Ridge National Laboratory shows where that foundation leads next, and I am proud to congratulate him on a well-deserved honor."

The APS Fellowship recognizes physicists who have made exceptional contributions to research, applications of physics, education or service to the field. No more than one-half of 1% of APS members, excluding students, are recognized as Fellows each year, ranking them among the most esteemed by their professional peers.

"I am deeply honored by this recognition from the field," said Sun, noting that much of the work was developed at Tulane, drawing on what he learned from Tulane physicist John Perdew and other colleagues. "This recognition is both humbling and motivating and inspires me to continue doing my best to advance the field and contribute to Tulane, New Orleans and the broader scientific community."

Sun's work focuses on using computational methods to understand and predict the properties of materials. He is leading a Tulane team recently selected for the federal Genesis Mission, a multiagency initiative aimed at using artificial intelligence to accelerate scientific discovery. The Tulane project that is part of the Genesis Mission is using AI and quantum-mechanical simulations to speed the search for higher-temperature superconductors - materials that can transmit electricity without energy loss and could enable advances in energy, medicine, quantum computing and other technologies.

Sun's Genesis Mission team is collaborating with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and bringing together Tulane researchers in physics, chemistry and computer science in its efforts. The project is testing whether AI can compress a materials-discovery process that traditionally could take years into a dramatically shorter timeframe.