Content notice: this post discusses the history and chemistry that was occurring within the context of the invention of some of the worst chemical agents of World Wars I & II, but doesn’t go into detail. It also mentions a suicide, deaths in an industrial accident, bombing campaigns, and indefinite detention of migrants.

This post is adapted from a talk I gave at one of the University of Sydney’s Theory Group meetings, but is ultimately a refashioned book report of Bioluminescene by Thérèse Wilson & J. Woodland Hastings. The Theory Group talks were an fascinating initiative, where other theoretical chemists were able to present on any topics in science that interested them. I hope my talk was interesting, but I don’t think anything could top the talk given by some postdocs on the optimal physical chemistry for cooking pasta and making espresso.

This post is adapted straight from my PhD Thesis, and deals with the struggle of creating a workable active space for multiconfigurational calculations.

This post is adapted straight from my PhD Thesis, and is intended as a primer for beginner computational chemists. Thanks goes out to Dr Laura McKemmish, whose notes on compchem for undergraduates is the urtext for this guide.