About the Conference
The vdW/L Discussions are conceived as a forum for scientists committed to the development of new theoretical, fundamental, methodological, instrumental and metrologic ways to characterize and study noncovalent interactions. As such it is an interdisciplinary forum that gives spaces for thorough discussions and debates around recent results, issues and emerging concepts.
Where
Université de Luxembourg, Luxembourg Campus Limpertsberg
When
Wednesday to Friday
15-17 October
Previous Conference
The van der Waals - London Discussions Strasbourg 2023Sessions Overview
This workshop is designed to foster lively discussions and the exchange of ideas, with the following session formats:
Invited Talks: 25-minute presentations followed by 15 minutes of discussion, providing in-depth insights and engaging dialogue.
Contributed Talks: 10-minute presentation and 10 minutes Q&A, offering opportunities to share and refine emerging ideas. Abstract submission will be closed on 15. June 2025.
Poster Session: An interactive space to showcase ongoing research, spark conversations, and collaborate with peers. Abstract submission will be closed on 31. August 2025.
Registration to participate in the workshop will be closed on 31. August 2025.
Topics
• Experimental techniques
• vdW/L in materials
• vdW/L in (bio)molecular systems
• Long-range interactions description by machine learning
• Long-range interactions datasets
Invited Speakers
Invited speakers are being contacted and will appear as they accept invitations.

Prof. Dr. Christoph Bannwarth
RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Prof. Dr. Berta Fernández Rodríguez
University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Dr. Wei Liu
Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, China

Prof. Dr. Ángel Martín Pendás
University of Oviedo, Spain

Prof. Dr. Jean-Pierre Djukic
University of Strasbourg, France

Prof. Dr. Giovanni Bistoni
University of Perugia, Italy

Prof. Dr. Melanie Schnell
Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, Germany

Prof. Dr. Péter R. Nagy
Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary

Prof. Dr. Robert Pollice
University of Groningen, Netherlands

Dr. Mariana Rossi
Max Planck Institute for Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Germany

Dr. Matteo Gori
University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Dr. Ariadni Boziki
University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Prof. Dr. Xiaofei Liu
Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China

Prof. Dr. Ganna Gryn'ova
University of Birmingham, UK

Prof. Dr. Sason Shaik
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Dr. Dzmitry Firaha
Avant-garde Materials Simulation, Germany

Prof. Dr. Katharine Hunt
Michigan State University, USA
Conference Schedule
Registration
Opening words Prof. Dr. Alexandre Tkatchenko
Prof. Jean-Pierre Djukic Predicting Reactivity from Density
Prof. Berta Fernández Rodríguez The Functional Group Correction approach versus machine learning
Prof. Christoph Bannwarth Non-covalent interactions in molecular photocatalysis and photophysics
Coffe break
Prof. Melanie Schnell Structure and dynamics of weakly bound molecular clusters
Dr. Wei Liu Van der Waals effects in surface and interface chemistry
Poster session
Day clossing
Contributed talk. To be determined.
Prof. Giovanni Bistoni Understanding London Dispersion Effects in Molecular Chemistry with Local Coupled Cluster Methods
Contributed talk. To be determined.
Coffe break
Prof. Ángel Martín Pendás Non-covalent interactions in Real Space: Tracing Electron Correlation, Intermolecular Bonds, and Dispersion from the IQA Perspective
Prof. Péter R. Nagy Enabling gold standard level of accuracy in modeling complex noncovalent interactions between large (bio)molecules
Lunch
Prof. Sason Shaik A Gravitational-Like Behavior of Dispersion Interactions
Contributed talk. To be determined.
Contributed talk. To be determined.
Coffe break
Dr. Matteo Gori Leveraging the Many-Body Dispersion Model: Accessing Charge Density Distortions and Quantum Electrodynamics Properties in Large Molecular Systems
Contributed talk. To be determined.
Prof. Katherine Hunt To be determined.
Travel to Resturant & Conference dinner
Prof. Ganna Gryn'ova Engineering Functional Organic Materials through Noncovalent Interactions
Prof. Robert Pollice Capturing Noncovalent Interactions in Molecular String Representations
Coffe break
Dr. Dzmitry Firaha Neumann-Perrin dispersion correction. Twenty years of application in molecular crystal modelling.
Contributed talk. To be determined.
Contributed talk. To be determined.
Lunch
Prof. Xiaofei Liu Van der Waals Force and Torque—Macroscopic and Microscopic Descriptions
Contributed talk. To be determined.
Dr. Ariadni Boziki The role of van der Waals interactions on the response properties of materials
Coffe break
Contributed talk. To be determined.
Dr. Mariana Rossi Unraveling the Nuclear Motion of Weakly Bound Materials
Clossing words
Conference Venue
Campus Limperstberg, Luxembourg
Bâtiment des Sciences 0.03,
162a Av. de la Faiencerie,
1511 Limpertsberg Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Plan your trip in Luxembourg: mobiliteit.lu
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