The School is intended for 

• Recent or soon-to-be-theory Ph.D's who wish to acquire knowledge outside their graduate and postdoctoral experiences
• Experimental chemists who use theory in their research
• Faculty at predominantly undergraduate institutions who want to incorporate theory into their classes

Cost 

• For most participants, TSTC subsidizes much of the costs of attending the school by contributing substantially to students' lodging and meal expenses
• TSTC reimburses students for registration fees upon completion of the course
• As part of the registration fee, TSRC supplies breakfast M-F, snacks during the day, a picnic dinner, and coffee, tea and sodas all day long
• Students must arrange their own transportation as TSTC does not support transport costs

Misc 

• Be sure to bring a laptop as there are none available at TSRC and many of the activities require a computer
• Bring layered clothing suitable for variable weather and trail boots; Telluride is a casual place.

Hi, this is Jack Simons speaking, and I am addressing you because you have either signed up to attend a Telluride School on Theoretical Chemistry (TSTC; http://www.telluridescience.org/tstc) or you may be interested in doing so. I want to explain what these schools are all about and why I founded them in 2008.

Most of you have focused your efforts on problems of current importance within one of the following fields: electronic structure theory, biological molecule or materials simulations, chemical reaction dynamics, or statistical mechanics. You have probably taken introductory graduate level courses covering most of these topics, but your research-level expertise is likely limited to the specific field within which you are currently working.

Largely due to the advent of high speed computing, our field of theoretical chemistry underwent explosive growth between the 1960s and the present, and is having more and more impact within the chemistry, materials science, biology, atmospheric science, and physics communities. I believe this trend will continue during your scientific career, as a result of which you will be presented with an amazing range of opportunities to employ the tools of theory to solve important and exciting problems in many areas of science. However, to do so, I think you will be best served if you build a broader and deeper background than you probably now possess within the areas of theory where you have not yet carried out research-level work. It is primarily to help you begin to build such a firm background that we offer TSTC.

We want those of you working in electronic structure theory to learn, at a level beyond graduate classes, about molecular simulations, reaction dynamics and statistical mechanics so you know, for example, about biomolecule force fields, solvation models, surface hopping methods, tools for sampling rare events, etc. Likewise, we want those of you working on biomolecule simulations to learn about density functional, Hartree-Fock, and coupled-cluster theory, and about conical intersections and surface hopping. That is, we want to provide each of you with an efficient route for learning enough about the other fields of theoretical chemistry that, as opportunities arise in your future career adventures, you will feel confident about delving even more deeply into these areas so you can apply their tools to scientific challenges you want to pursue.

So, the main purpose of TSTC schools is to offer you exposure to Ph.D. level background material in the areas of theory within which you are currently not working. If you want learn more about your specialized area of emphasis within theory, I suggest that you consider attending one of the many Telluride Science Research Center workshops (TSRC; http://www.telluridescience.org/) offered each year.

I understand that one intense week of exposure to such subject matter will not bring you to a cutting-edge research level (we intend to expand the TSTC schools to two weeks once we have adequate funding) of knowledge. However, I believe that, if you work hard to assimilate the material offered in TSTC, you can achieve a broadening and deepening of your background that will serve you well in your future research endeavors. I want you to know that I and the other theoretical chemists who have volunteered to teach in TSTC schools care deeply about our discipline and about you as its future leaders. If you attend TSTC, we hope you enjoy your experience, learn a lot, and create networks with other members of theoretical chemistry’s future. We are doing our best to offer you a unique opportunity, and we ask that you do your best to master the material presented at TSTC.

 I wish you the very best in your exciting young career.

Sincerely,

Jack Simons

The American Chemical Society’s Physical Division Award in Theoretical Chemistry 

When asked to contribute $90,000 toward establishing an on-going funding stream for the Telluride School on Theoretical Chemistry (TSTC), the Physical Chemistry Division of ACS decided to create a new award to honor theoretical chemists who have not yet won an ACS National Award and to tie this new award to TSTC. Each year, the division selects an awardee who is then invited to TSTC where he or she will present a seminar and receive the award from the TSTC Board Chair.

Award Recipients 

2019 

No recipients in 2019

2017 

David Reichman, Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University

Dave Thirumalai, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin

2015 

Horia Metiu, Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara

Douglas Tobias, Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine, received the award "for theoretical studies that have revealed new and unexpected aspects of ions at interfaces and membrane-bound proteins, and their impacts on atmospheric and biological systems.

2013
Gregory A. Voth, Haig P. Papazian Distinguished Service Professor of Chemistry and the James Frank Institute at the University of Chicago, has research interests that include multiscale theory and computer simulation of biomolecular and soft matter systems; proton and charge transport processes in chemistry, biology, and material science; and complex liquids and solvation phenomena.

2012
Anna Krylov, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Southern California, works in the area of theoretical and computational quantum chemistry, specifically, theoretical modeling of open-shell and electronically excited species.

2011
James L. Skinner, Joseph O. and Elizabeth S. Hirschfelder Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin Madison, whose research interests include theoretical chemistry of condensed phases; non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, chemical reaction dynamics; dephasing and relaxation processes; and linear and non-linear spectroscopy.

2010
Kenneth Jordan, Distinguished Professor of Computational Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, whose research is focused on understanding charge accommodation by H-bonded networks, in particular, excess photons and electrons in water, chemical reactions on solid surfaces, and the properties of gas hydrates.

2009
Peter Rossky, Marvin K. Collie-Welch Regents Chair in Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. His research at Texas is focused on understanding the underlying molecular events occurring during chemical processes in condensed phases, primarily in liquids and other amorphous condensed phases.

2021 Dates: July 19th - 23rd
Michael Feig, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University
Timothy Berkelbach, Department of Chemistry, Columbia University

Meeting Description:
The field of theoretical and computational chemistry has traditionally been a key component within physical chemistry and chemical physics. More recently, theoretical chemistry has begun to assume important roles in biological chemistry and materials science as well. Most experimental scientists working in these disciplines have not had the background necessary to gain a working knowledge of theory as it is used in their research disciplines. Because many of them want to make use of theory to interpret their data and to guide their research, they constitute one component of the student body for the proposed schools. In addition, many faculty members who teach undergraduate chemistry, biology, and materials science classes want to incorporate computer modeling into the classroom. The schools would offer them an efficient route for learning the theoretical and computational background needed to do so. Most importantly, the Ph. D. and postdoctoral students entering theoretical and computational chemistry can also benefit. Most of these young peoples' doctoral and postdoctoral work has focused on only a sub-set of theory's main areas (electronic structure, dynamics, statistical mechanics, molecular modeling). Especially if they pursue an academic career, they will be expected to teach classes in a wider range of theoretical topics. Moreover, their research careers are likely to evolve in directions that will require them to become proficient in areas other than where their doctoral and postdoctoral work focused. These Schools offer them an excellent chance to broaden their knowledge and skill sets at an early career stage.

Each TSTC school will involve approximately six to eight hours of lectures on electronic structure theory, dynamics, and statistical mechanics as well as one topical subject that will change from school to school. Poster sessions for participants to describe their interests and problem solving sessions will also be held. The school's endowment covers the registration cost for those applicants who are accepted into the school.

Lecturers:
Biophysics -- Prof. Michael Feig (Michigan State Unversity)
Electronic Structure Theory -- Prof. Timothy Berkelbach (Columbia University)
Statistical Mechanics -- Prof. Todd Gingrich (Northwestern University)
Chemical Dynamics -- Prof. Nandini Ananth (Cornell University)

School Venue:
Virtual