About ESQC

The European summerschool in quantum chemistry will take place for the 19th time from September 8 to September 21, 2024. The goal of the school is to introduce the participants to modern methods and computational techniques in quantum chemistry. More and more scientists in different fields of chemistry are using theoretical methods in their research, either as a technique per se, or as a complement to experimental work. As a result there is a growing need to acquire the background knowledge necessary for skillful use of these methods. The European Summer School in Quantum Chemistry (ESQC) was started with the aim of disseminating such knowledge. The first school was held in August 1989. The school aims at developing critical thinking of the participants, and much time will therefore be devoted to the discussion of different electronic structure problems and the choice of appropriate methods for their solution. The course will consist of both lectures and tutorials.

The location of the school will be Hotel Torre Normanna, a conference centre located about 40 km east of Palermo, Sicily, Italy.

In order to benefit from the school, participants are assumed to have at least a basic knowledge of quantum mechanics and quantum chemistry as represented, for example, by Molecular Quantum Mechanics, P. W. Atkins (Oxford University Press). In addition the participants are assumed to have a basic knowledge of quantum chemistry methodology, in particular the Hartree-Fock method as well as the concepts of Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals (LCAO) and Slater determinants.

The total fee for the summer school is 2100 EUR for university participants and 6500 EUR for others. The price includes food and lodging in single rooms, the tuition fee, and school material (including three textbooks). The number of students is limited to 80. Participation cannot therefore be guaranteed for all applicants, and early registration is very strongly advised. At this stage is is very unlikely that the 2024 school will have any external financial support, so no bursaries will be available. Students must find their own financial sources to cover their expenses.

The acceptance of students based on the information provided by the student upon registration, to assure the overall quality of the school. To the extent that this documentation convinces us that you have the necessary level for the school, the acceptance of students will be done on a first come, first served basis. If there are more applicants than places we may be forced to close registration early. (This has happened with all previous schools!) We will maintain a limited waiting list in case students who are initially accepted drop out, but this has been a very rare occurrence in the past.

Once you are accepted to attend the school, you will be asked to answer some questions which are designed to give us an impression of the general level of knowledge among the students and to help us place students in groups of about eight for the daily tutorials. These questions are not used to select students for the school, they are used only for assigning tutorial groups and for gauging the overall level of expertise. Nevertheless, it is important that we have a reliable method for assigning the tutorial groups, so the test should be taken seriously.

If you need additional information please contact the organizers:
email: trond.saue at irsamc.ups-tlse.fr
phone: +33/561556031
fax: +33/561556065

Welcome to ESQC!

Trond Saue