Clay Minerals Group Research in Progress Meeting & Workshop

16th & 17th of May 2024
University of Edinburgh, Scotland

Thursday PM, May 16th – Workshop [in person only]: from constructing clay models to performing molecular dynamics simulations

Friday, May 17th – Meeting [hybrid]:
bridging the gap between experimental and computational research in clay science

Keynote Speaker:
Andrey G. Kalinichev
SUBATECH, Institut Mines-Télécom Atlantique, France

The Workshop – 16th of May, PM

This in-person workshop aims to: 

• give an introduction to practical molecular dynamics simulations, discussing resources and facilities needed;
• teach specifics on how to set up systems involving layered minerals, such as clays, for further simulations with Gromacs;
• demonstrate the use of ClayCode, which assists in creating molecular models of clays, truthful to their real/natural structures;
• provide users with specific scripts to facilitate the implementation of modelling into their research routines. 

The workshop is designed to give attendees a practical introduction to modelling techniques, with experienced teachers to guide them through the steps.
The workshop is in-person only due to the access to facilities. The material will be available online after the workshop, but we will not be able to provide access to the HPC facilities.

The Meeting – 17th of May, Full-day

The goals of the meeting are (but not limited to):

• discuss the use of molecular modeling in clay science,
• share best practices, methods and software,
• encourage dialogue between experimental and computational researchers,
• enable uptake of molecular modeling by the clay research community,
• identify knowledge gaps in the field,
• foster a supportive community for researchers at all career stages in clay science.

The meeting is intended for both those who already use modeling and those interested in learning more about it. We encourage in-person participation, but hybrid attendance is also available.

This meeting is organized on behalf of the Clay Minerals Group of the Mineralogical Society of the UK and Ireland by Valentina Erastova, Hannah Pollak and Sarah Stewart of the Erastova group at the University of Edinburgh and Nia Gray-Wannell of the mineralogy group at the James Hutton Institute. The workshop is funded by CCP5  Collaborative Computational Project No. 5 for computer simulation of condensed phases.

We would like to thank our current sponsors. The sponsorship allows us to make this meeting free to all of the participants.

We are actively seeking sponsors for this meeting and will offer the opportunity to advertise to our attendees, both in person and online.

The sponsorship will further facilitate the attendance of the early-career researchers to this meeting

If you or your organization would like to sponsor our event, please contact us.