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Preface

2010; Wiley; Volume: 111; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/qua.22768

1097-461X

G. Delgado–Barrio, J. Maruani, Piotr Piecuch, Erkki Brändas,

History and advancements in chemistry

This volume collects 32 selected papers from the scientific contributions presented at the Fourteenth International Workshop on Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics (QSCP-XIV), which was organized by a team led by Professor Gerardo Delgado-Barrio in El Escorial, Madrid, Spain, from September 13th to 19th, 2009. Over 100 scientists from 26 countries attended the meeting. Participants of QSCP-XIV discussed the state of the art, new trends, and future evolution of methods in molecular quantum mechanics, and their applications to a wide range of problems in chemistry and physics. The QSCP-XIV workshop took place in the Royal University Center Maria Cristina, located in the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial near Madrid, Spain. The construction of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, which was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1984, can be attributed to a promise made by King Felipe II, who wanted to build a religious place as a compensation for a church dedicated to San Lorenzo that was destroyed during the battle of San Quintin. The Founding and Endowment Charter states that the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial was constructed to express perpetual gratitude for the benefits received from God, guarantee the eternal memory of the Royal Family, and establish a Royal Mausoleum for the relatives of the King. Among other reasons behind the construction of the Monastery are the profound religiousness of King Felipe II, the death of his father Carlos V (1558), and the need to affirm the Austrian royal line in Spain. The construction of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, initiated by Juan Bautista de Toledo in 1563, was completed by his disciple Juan de Herrera in 1584. The Herreriano architectural style, which is characterized by strongly defined lines and a lack of decoration, is clearly visible in the Monastery's design. The Monastery is located on the foothills of Mount Abantos, 1028 m above the sea level. The floor plan is in the form of a rectangle with an area of 33,327 square meters. It has 16 patios, 88 fountains, 13 oratories, 15 cloisters, 86 stairways, 9 towers, 1,200 doors, and 2,673 windows. The main entrance, located in the 207-m long west side of the building, faces Mount Abantos. The Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial includes many spectacular sections, including the Hall of Battles, Pantheon of the Kings, Pantheon of the Princes, Basilica, Choir, Sacristy, Library, and Chapterhouses. The more recent additions, the Art Gallery and the Architectural Museum, are marvelous as well. The numerous parks and gardens of El Escorial offer many opportunities for enjoyment and relaxation. QSCP I in 1996, organized by Roy McWeeny at San Miniato (Pisa, Italy), QSCP II in 1997, by Stephen Wilson at Oxford (England), QSCP III in 1998, by Alfonso Hernandez-Laguna at Granada (Spain), QSCP IV in 1999, by Jean Maruani at Marly le Roi (Paris, France), QSCP V in 2000, by Erkki Brändas at Uppsala (Sweden), QSCP VI in 2001, by Alia Tadjer at Sofia (Bulgaria), QSCP VII in 2002, by Ivan Hubac at Bratislava (Slovakia), QSCP VIII in 2003, by Aristides Mavridis at Spetses (Athens, Greece), QSCP IX in 2004, by Jean-Pierre Julien at Les Houches (Grenoble, France), QSCP X in 2005, by Souad Lahmar at Carthage (Tunisia), QSCP XI in 2006, by Oleg Vasyutinskii at Pushkin (St. Petersburg, Russia), QSCP XII in 2007, by Stephen Wilson at Windsor (London, England), QSCP XIII in 2008, by Piotr Piecuch at East Lansing (Michigan, USA). Concepts and Methods in Quantum Chemistry and Physics: 14 talks; Molecular Structure and Spectroscopy: 15 talks; Condensed Matter; Complexes and Clusters; Surfaces and Interfaces: 21 talks; Reactive Collisions and Chemical Reactions: 10 talks. General: five papers; Methodologies: 10 papers; Structure: eight papers; Dynamics: nine papers. The details of the El Escorial meeting, including the scientific program, can be found at: http://www.iff.csic.es/fama/con/qscp09/intro.html. Altogether, there were 19 plenary sessions, where 60 plenary lectures were given and two evening poster sessions, with 70 posters preceded by short oral presentations. We are grateful to all plenary speakers and poster presenters for making the QSCP-XIV workshop such a stimulating experience and success. In addition to the scientific program, the QSCP-XIV workshop had its fair share of cultural activities. One of the afternoons was devoted to an excursion to La Granja Palace, and its gorgeous gardens, and to Segovia, where participants had a chance to see the magnificent Roman Aqueduct and visit the Cathedral and Castle. One of the dinners concluded with an impressive organ concert inside the Monastery. At the banquet dinner that took place in the Maria Cristina dining room, following a well-established tradition of the QSCP series, an impressive ceremony was organized to award the Promising Scientist Prize of the Centre de Mécanique Ondulatoire Appliquée (CMOA) and to announce the venue of the next QSCP meeting. The CMOA Prize was awarded by the President of CMOA, Dr. Jean Maruani, to Dr. Tomás González-Lezana (Spain) and Dr. Masahiro Ehara (Japan). In addition, a newly created Medal for distinguished senior scientists was awarded, for the first time, to Professor J. Alberto Beswick (France). The venue and period of the next QSCP meeting was disclosed at the end of the ceremony: Cambridge, England, September, 2010. We are pleased to acknowledge the support given to the organizers of QSCP-XIV by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, the Section of Atomic and Molecular Physics of the Spanish Royal Physical Society, the European Physics Journal D, and the private companies HP, AMD, TAISA, and SIE. We are most grateful to all members of the Local Organizing Committee for their work and dedication, especially Prof. Pablo Villarreal, Dr. Tomás González-Lezana, and Dr. Octavio Roncero, which made the stay and work of the participants both pleasant and fruitful. Finally, we would like to thank the Honorary Chairs and members of the International Scientific Committee for their invaluable expertise and advice. We hope the readers will find as much interest in consulting these proceedings as the participants in attending the meeting.