Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/S61263/01
Title:	Theoretical Physics and Chemistry Portfolio Grant
Principal Investigator:	Littlewood, Professor P
Other Investigators:	Stone, Professor AJ Khmelnitskii, Professor D Cooper, Professor N Needs, Professor RJ Simons, Professor BD Warner, Professor M Handy, Professor N Hansen, Professor JP Payne, Professor MC Sprik, Professor M Alavi, Professor A Terentjev, Professor E
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Physics
Organisation:	University of Cambridge
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 April 2003	Ends:	30 September 2008	Value (£):	4,648,755
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Condensed Matter Physics Gas & Solution Phase Reactions
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Chemicals Communications Electronics Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
As theoreticians, we construct models of physical and chemical processes that are generally inspired by experimental discoveries, we generalise these models and their solutions to make predictions for new experiments, and we transfer the concepts and theoretical tools which emerge from the solution of these models to other areas of research, in a concerted interdisciplinary effort. In short the role of theory is to understand known phenomena observed in the laboratory or in everyday life, and to predict new chemical and physical processes and phenomena.Our theoretical research is both about making calculations, to quantitatively understand and predict the behaviour of matter, but also about making models to illuminate the landscape of emergent behaviour in chemistry, physics, material science, and biology. The role of theory includes both fundamental knowledge creation and practical applications of modelling for new and existing technology. The applications of our activity are as various as chemical catalysis, semiconductor lasers, and drug design.Starting from first principles on the microscopic level - as embodied in the Schrodinger equation - electronic, mechanical and structural properties of molecules and materials can now be calculated with a remarkable degree of accuracy. We work on developing and refining new computational tools and applying them to a broad spectrum of fundamental and applied problems in physics, chemistry, materials science and biology.Solids and fluids often show unusual collective behaviour resulting from cooperative quantum or classical phenomena. For such phenomena a more model-based approach is often appropriate, and we are using such methods to attack problems in magnetism, superconductivity, nonlinear optics, mesoscopic systems, complex fluids, polymers, and colloids.Collective behaviour comes even more to the fore in systems on a larger scale. As examples, we work on self-organising structures in soft condensed matter systems, non-linear dynamics of interacting systems, and models of biophysical processes bridging the gap between molecular and mesoscopic scales.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Impacts
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher
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Organisation Website:	http://www.cam.ac.uk