Volker Blum
Rooney Family Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Volker Blum heads the "Ab initio materials simulations" group at Duke University. Dr. Blum's research focuses on first-principles computational materials science: using the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics to predict the properties of real materials from the atomic scale on upwards.
Specific focus areas are interface and nanoscale systems with electronic and energy applications, as well as work on molecular structure and spectroscopy. He is actively working on novel semiconductor materials, including hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites and complex chalcogenide materials. Both groups of materials hold promise as absorbers for photovoltaics (i.e., solar cells), as materials for spin-based electronics and optoelectronics, and other semiconductor applications.
Dr. Blum is the coordinator of a major computer package for computational materials and molecular science based on electronic structure theory, FHI-aims. Work in his group is interdisciplinary (touching areas of physics and chemistry in addition to materials science), with opportunities for international collaboration and exchange.
Appointments and Affiliations
- Rooney Family Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
- Associate Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
- Associate Professor of Chemistry
Contact Information
- Office Location:
- Office Phone:
- Email Address: volker.blum@duke.edu
- Websites:
Education
- Ph.D. Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany), 2001
Research Interests
Computational predictions and understanding of new materials related to energy and electronics, as well as molecular structure and spectroscopies, based on the "first principles" of quantum mechanics. Much of this work is directly connected to ongoing developments of new algorithms and computational tools in the all-electron electronic structure package "FHI-aims" and in the broader “ELSI” infrastructure, both led by Volker Blum.
Awards, Honors, and Distinctions
- August-Wilhelm-Scheer Visiting Professorship. Technical University of Munich. 2016
- Outstanding Referee of the Physical Review journals. APS. 2016
- Staedtler Foundation Prize. Staedtler Foundation. 2002
Courses Taught
- CHEM 995: Graduate Training Internship
- ME 221L: Structure and Properties of Solids
- ME 494: Engineering Undergraduate Fellows Projects
- ME 511: Computational Materials Science
- ME 555: Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering
- ME 560S: Materials Science and Engineering Seminar
- ME 591: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
- ME 592: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
In the News
- Pratt Researchers Join National Effort to Unlock New Energy Technologies (Aug 23, 2018 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- International Collaboration Demonstrates Reliability of Quantum Simulations (Mar 30, 2016 | Duke Today)
- New Class of Molecular ‘Lightbulbs’ Illuminate MRI (Mar 23, 2016)
- Pratt Researchers to Harness Computational Power to Solve Time-Intensive Calculations (Jul 10, 2015)
- Energy Initiative Provides First Round of Research Seed Funding (Apr 16, 2014)
Representative Publications
- Wang, T; McWhorter, TM; McKeown Wessler, GC; Yao, Y; Song, R; Mitzi, DB; Blum, V, Exploration, Prediction, and Experimental Verification of Structure and Optoelectronic Properties in I2-Eu-IV-X4 (I = Li, Cu, Ag; IV = Si, Ge, Sn; X = S, Se) Chalcogenide Semiconductors, Chemistry of Materials, vol 36 no. 1 (2024), pp. 340-357 [10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c02218] [abs].
- Heine, D; Yu, HC; Blum, V, Benchmark thermodynamic analysis of methylammonium lead iodide decomposition from first principles, Journal of Physics: Energy, vol 6 no. 1 (2024) [10.1088/2515-7655/ad139d] [abs].
- Park, JY; Song, R; Liang, J; Jin, L; Wang, K; Li, S; Shi, E; Gao, Y; Zeller, M; Teat, SJ; Guo, P; Huang, L; Zhao, YS; Blum, V; Dou, L, Thickness control of organic semiconductor-incorporated perovskites., Nature Chemistry, vol 15 no. 12 (2023), pp. 1745-1753 [10.1038/s41557-023-01311-0] [abs].
- Xu, J; Zhou, R; Blum, V; Li, TE; Hammes-Schiffer, S; Kanai, Y, First-Principles Approach for Coupled Quantum Dynamics of Electrons and Protons in Heterogeneous Systems., Physical Review Letters, vol 131 no. 23 (2023) [10.1103/physrevlett.131.238002] [abs].
- Maughan, AE; Koknat, G; Sercel, PC; Jana, MK; Brunecky, R; Mitzi, DB; Berry, JJ; Blum, V; Beard, MC, Impact of Chiral Symmetry Breaking on Spin-Texture and Lone Pair Expression in Chiral Crystals of Hybrid Antimony and Bismuth Halides, Chemistry of Materials, vol 35 no. 21 (2023), pp. 9086-9101 [10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c01733] [abs].