CECAM promotes the fundamental research on advanced computational methods and to their application to important problems in science and technology
CECAM (Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire) was founded in Paris in 1969 by Dr Carl Moser. It is an organization devoted to the promotion of fundamental research on advanced computational methods and to their application to important problems in frontier areas of science and technology. As the name suggests, the traditional focus of CECAM has been atomistic and molecular simulations, applied to the physics and chemistry of condensed matter. Over the last twenty years, powerful advances in computer hardware and software have supported the extension of these methods to a wide range of problems in materials science, biology and medicinal chemistry.
CECAM has always been very attentive to such developments and has helped to foster many of them to the point that computer simulation is now considered to be a third way of doing science; a new way of linking theory and experiment. Thus the importance of simulation continues to grow in many emerging areas and CECAM is evolving its scope and structure to address these changes. For example, our communities are particularly interested in multiscale modelling of phenomena from a quantum to a constitutive equation description and we also recognize the importance of new statistical techniques that can extract relationships directly from data. To cover this broad range of activities we have established 17 CECAM nodes across Europe to work along side the headquarters in Lausanne.
CECAM activities, across all of the nodes, include the organization of scientific workshops in emerging areas; specialist tutorials to train at the graduate and postdoctoral level; workshops on software development; brain-storming and problem solving events; the development of collaborative research projects for Europe and beyond; and the sponsorship of an international visitors programme. We welcome applications to organise events and to establish networks through CECAM from everybody interested in computational science.
Governance
The governance of CECAM relies on four bodies with distinct functions.
- The CECAM Council is the supreme governing body of CECAM, where all Member Organizations are represented. It has the ultimate responsibility for all strategy and operations.
- The CECAM Director coordinates and executes the CECAM programme of activities, under delegated authority from the CECAM Council. The Director and the CECAM administrative staff are located at the Headquarters.
- The Board of Directors consists of all Node Directors and the CECAM Director, who chairs the Board. The CECAM Director and the Node Directors administer the part of the adopted programme taking place at their respective locations. The Board of Directors works towards a coordinated optimal selection and distribution of CECAM activities throughout the network.
- The Scientific Advisory Committee consists of eminent scientists, coming from the different fields covered by CECAM. Its role is to advise the CECAM Director and the Board of Directors on the CECAM scientific policy. It is chaired by the CECAM Director.