The Materials Theory Group was well represented at the Gordon Research at High Pressure Conference in Holderness, New Hampshire, from 14-19 July. This year, the conference was chaired by our group leader, Prof. Chris Pickard.
The program covered a wide range of topics, this year focusing on Exploring Matter Beyond Equilibrium. Scientists from around the world presented cutting-edge results and groundbreaking techniques.
At the Gordon Research Seminar, a sister event for early career researchers, Peter Cooke, from the Materials Theory Group, gave a talk presenting advances in the use of our ephemeral data-derived potentials for dynamical simulations. Lewis Conway’s and Pascal Salzbrenner’s posters highlighted different applications, from an exhaustive search of the hydride composition space to the high-throughput prediction of heavy metal phase diagrams. The increasing use of machine-learned interatomic potentials to push the boundaries of materials modelling and novel experimental probes were twin focuses of the conference.
As well as a packed scientific program, Gordon conferences host an equally packed social program, with extensive opportunities for in-depth discussions between junior and senior scientists during the daily poster sessions and beyond. The traditional football game between team Gigapascal and team Terapascal was also a particular highlight.
As usual, discussions continued long into the night after the sessions had finished. Our group struck up new collaborations and returned inspired with new ideas. We are all excited to return to Holderness in 2026.