Methods for accelerated materials discovery, fundamentals and overview, 7.5 ECTS

 

Developing new materials is complex, costly and time consuming. Traditional methods often rely on sequential testing and lengthy optimization cycles, limiting the pace of innovation. As the demand for high performance and environmentally sustainable materials grows, new approaches are needed to accelerate discovery and reduce development risks.

This course offers an overview of contemporary methods and emerging tools that are shaping the future of materials research. Students will explore the effectiveness of high throughput synthesis and characterization, along with computational methods including thermodynamic modeling, density functional theory and machine learning. These are critical skills for the next generation of materials scientists.

The course highlights how accelerated discovery can support sustainable and resource efficient materials development. Case studies will include magnetic materials, structural alloys and battery systems, with flexibility to reflect students’ own research areas. Students will also carry out a project linked to their PhD topic, where they are encouraged to apply high throughput strategies within their own research context. The course includes online lectures, exercises, open discussions and a full day project presentation workshop at Chalmers University.

Preliminary schedule:

• November: 5 (Wed), 7 (Fri), 12 (Wed), 14 (Fri), 26 (Wed), 28 (Fri)
• December: 3 (Wed), 5 (Fri), 10 (Wed), 12 (Fri), 17 (Wed), 19 (Fri)
• January: 7 (Wed), 9 (Fri), 14 (Wed), 16 (Fri), 21 (Wed),
• January 23 (Fri): A full day in-person project presentation/workshop at Chalmers

All lectures will be online. However, please note that the last day of the course requires physical on-site attendance.
The maximum number of participants is 30.