Paesani, Francesco
Quantum dynamics and statistical mechanics from the gas to the condensed phase

Contact Information
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, San Diego Supercomputer Center
Kurt Shuler Faculty Scholar

Office: Urey Hall 3210
Phone: 858-822-3383
Email: fpaesani@ucsd.edu
Web: paesanigroup.ucsd.edu
Group: View group members
Education
2000 Ph.D., Theoretical Physical Chemistry, University of Rome "La Sapienza"
1996 Laurea, Chemistry, University of Rome "La Sapienza"
Appointments
2017-present Professor, University of California, San Diego
2015-2017 Associate Professor, University of California, Sa Diego
2009-2015 Assisitant Professor, University of California, San Diego
2005-2009 Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Utah
2002-2005 Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley
Awards and Academic Honors
2022
McElvain Physical Chemistry (University of Wisconsin - Madison)
2020
Cozzarelli Prize (National Academy of Sciences)
2019
Kurt Shuler Faculty Scholar
2017
UC San Diego Legacy Lecture
2016
ACS Early-Career Award in Theoretical Chemistry
2015
NSF CAREER Award
2014
ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award
2012-2013
Hellman Fellowship
Research Interests
We are a theoretical chemistry group working at the intersection of quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics, and computer science. We are interested in developing new methods and software to predict the behavior of complex molecular systems at different length and time scales.
Primary Research Area
Physical/Analytical Chemistry
Interdisciplinary interests
Computational and Theoretical
Materials
Biophysics

Outreach Activities
We participate in the SMART (Students Modeling a Research Topic) Team program in collaboration with the Educational Department at SDSC. Within this program, high school students from Francis Parker, El Capitan and Mt. Empire high schools, and High Tech High North County visit our lab to learn about molecular dynamics simulations.

Every year, we also host high-school students participating in the Research Scholars program.
Image Gallery


Development of many-body molecular dynamics for modeling vibrational spectroscopy in the condensed phase

Rational design of porous materials for water harvesting and purification, catalysis, and energy applications


Design of genome editing enzymes using artificial intelligence

Selected Publications   See https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=01BwypIAAAAJ