Rise of Electronic Structure Calculations

Explore the historical development of electronic structure calculations in this 31-minute conference talk delivered by Prof. Mike Payne from the University of Cambridge at the Lennard-Jones Centre-CECAM Meeting 2025. Discover how the field evolved from Dirac's famous observation about the complexity of applying fundamental physical laws to chemistry and physics, through to modern computational approaches. Gain insights into the Cambridge-centric perspective on key milestones and breakthroughs that have shaped electronic structure theory and its practical applications. Learn about the challenges researchers faced in solving complex equations and how computational advances have transformed our ability to understand and predict the behavior of materials at the electronic level.