ICN2
Institution
ICN2 (The Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology) is an independent research organisation based in Barcelona, and funded by the government of Catalonia and the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). It is a center with a broad focus on activities related to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and it is considered as a Center of Excellence by the Spanish government since 2014, having received twice the “Severo Ochoa” distinction. The research group from ICN2 participating in MaX is the “Theory and Simulation” group, led by Pablo Ordejón. The group participates in several projects funded by the EU H2020 Program, and by the Spanish “Agencia Estatal de Investigación”. It also collaborates with the spin-off company SIMUNE (of which Prof. Ordejón is a co-founder), dedicated to providing computer simulation services to companies developing innovative and cutting edge technology based on the properties of the materials at atomic scale..
Research expertise
The group is one of the founding and leading developers of SIESTA. The research background is mostly on the development of theoretical methods and computational algorithms for atomistic simulations, and their application to nanoscale systems. Particular interest is taken in the transport properties (electronic and thermal) at the nanoscale, the study of low dimensional materials (including 2D materials like graphene and others, but also surfaces, and 3D crystals with electronic properties characteristic of low-dimensionality, like Charge Density Waves). A direct collaboration with experimental groups is a fundamental cornerstone for the ICN2 group, both within the institute and with external collaborators.
Tasks in MaX
Within MaX, ICN2 mainly contributes with software development expertise, focused on the SIESTA suite. The main goals are the enhancement of the functionalities and performance of SIESTA and the implementation of robust plugins and workflows for HPC and HTC interfacing with SIESTA. ICN2 is also leading the WP6 Communication, Dissemination, and Exploitation of the project.