Her research interests focus on quantum and computational chemistry. She is the author of cutting-edge research in electron structure theory, in which she develops new theoretical approaches and computational algorithms. For her outstanding contributions to the theory of density matrix functioning, she was awarded the Medal of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science.
The News & Views article by Katarzyna Pernal and Michał Hapka from the Institute of Physics, TUL was published in Nature Reviews Chemistry on 25 May. The journal from the "Nature" group has a large reach and impact (impact factor over 35), even though it has been in existence for only a few years, it already enjoys a high reputation. The idea of the News&Views series, written by recognised experts at the invitation of the editor, is to present the progress made in a given field.
The paper by K. Pernal and M. Hapka entitled "Density Functional Theory. In pursuit of universality" presents the impressive progress that has been made in chemistry and computational physics, thanks to the development of universal electron density functionals, the so-called DFT methods, in the last fifteen years. These methods have become a routine computational tool used in quantum simulations in chemistry, physics, or materials engineering. The article is available on nature.com.
- Articles for News and Views are written at the invitation of the editor and deal with an issue chosen by the editor that has a fundamental impact on some field, in this case chemistry. This publication is about a development in computational chemistry and physics methods - electron density functional (DFT) theory. DFT methods are powerful computational tools for applications in chemistry, physics, material science, materials engineering, etc. At our university DFT calculation packages are used at the Faculty of Chemistry; Faculty of Mechanical Engineering; Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering; and Faculty of Technical Physics, Information Technology and Applied Mathematics - explains Prof. Pernal.
Professor Katarzyna Pernal was nominated for the Heisig Prize a few days ago. She is one of 12 outstanding scientists from Poland nominated for this prize, known as the Polish 'little Nobel'. This is the first edition of the prize established by the University of Wroclaw and worth 200 thousand zlotys. The winner will be announced on 1 October.