SEMINAR: Bayliss Seminar Series

The density functional formalism is ubiquitous in condensed matter physics, chemistry, and materials science, and many newcomers to the field are surprised to learn that this development — particularly in chemistry — is just 25 years old. The origins go back, however, to the first days of quantum mechanics. I review the development of density-related methods from that time and discuss their breakthrough around 1990. Examples underscore the scale of applications now possible, and I conclude by expressing my concern about the present situation and the future.

R. O. Jones, Rev. Mod. Pays. 87, 897 (2015)