News

Interdisciplinary Graduate Course in Python Programming at the Escuela de Verano de Postgrado 2026

The summer course Introducción a la Programación en Python (January 19–23, 2026), held within the Escuela de Verano de Postgrado 2026, brought together graduate students from diverse disciplines to develop practical programming and data analysis skills. Through hands-on, research-oriented training, including the use of AI-based tools, the course reinforced QCMM’s commitment to interdisciplinary graduate education and to equipping students with advanced analytical skills essential for research.

Prof. Stefan Vogt-Geisse and Dr. Namrata Rani Participate in Pacifichem 2025 with Talks on Astrochemistry

Prof. Stefan Vogt-Geisse and Dr. Namrata Rani from the QCMM group presented their research at Pacifichem 2025 in Honolulu. Dr. Vogt-Geisse gave an invited talk on binding energies of interstellar species on ice mantles, while Dr. Rani delivered a contributed talk on sulfur chemistry and thioethanal formation in the interstellar medium. Their successful participation showcased Prof. Vogt-Geisses group contributions to cutting-edge astrochemistry.

Prof. Stefan Vogt-Geisse visits Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics to study Cosmic Ray-Driven Chemistry in CO ices

Prof. Stefan Vogt-Geisse collaborated with the Center for Astrochemical Studies (CAS) at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Munich, working with Dr. Alexei Ivlev and Dr. Michela Giuliano on cosmic ray-driven chemistry in CO ices. Using electronic structure calculations, the research focused on identifying reaction pathways behind experimentally observed products. Two manuscripts from this collaboration are currently in preparation.

Prof. Stefan Vogt-Geisse gives talk at Radboud University, Nijmegen

Prof. Stefan Vogt-Geisse presented his BEEP-1 work at Astrochemistry: From Quantum to Cosmos at Radboud University Nijmegen (October 2025). The meeting was particularly important for establishing new contacts and launching collaborations with both experimental and theoretical astrochemists.

Prof. Vöhringer-Martinez Represents Chile and the Associated Max-Planck Laboratory at Latin American Meeting

Eddie Merbitz Visits Prof. Vöhringer’s Max-Planck Laboratory

Luis Macaya defends successfully PhD thesis on protein-ligand affinity prediction!

Carlos Castillo Successfully Defends Doctoral Thesis on Protein Engineering Through Non‑Equilibrium Alchemical Free Energy Calculations

Adelio Matamala Rossel Defends Undergraduate Thesis on RuBisCO Selectivity

We congratulate Adelio Matamala Rossel on the successful defense of his biochemistry undergraduate thesis, titled “Cambios en la selectividad de ribulosa 1,5-bifosfato carboxilasa oxigenasa (RuBisCO) mediante simulaciones de dinámica molecular” under the direction of Prof. Esteban Vöhringer-Martinez. Congrats Adelio!

Dr. Namrata Rani’s Research Tour in India Strengthens Astrochemistry Collaborations

Dr. Namrata Rani toured India, presenting her work on interstellar reaction mechanisms at major institutions and the ASI Conference. She engaged in research talks, outreach activities, and collaborations, strengthening ties between theoretical and experimental astrochemistry.

QCMM Research Featured in International Women’s Day 2025 Collection

A recent QCMM research paper, co-authored by Dr. Giulia M. Bovolenta and Gabriela Silva-Vera, has been featured in the International Women’s Day 2025 Collection by PCCP. The study, based on Dr. Bovolenta’s PhD thesis, explores catalytic sites on amorphous solid water for the formation of aminomethanol, a key interstellar molecule. Dr. Bovolenta, now a postdoctoral researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology, and Silva-Vera’s contributions highlight the role of women in computational astrochemistry.

Prof. Stefan Vogt-Geisse Completes Productive Research Stay at the University of Leeds

Prof. Stefan Vogt-Geisse completed a six-month research stay at the University of Leeds, collaborating with Dr. Catherine Walsh to integrate high-quality binding energy data into world-leading astrochemical models of protoplanetary disks. His stay led to new collaborations and the finalization of an updated Binding Energy Evaluation Platform (BEEP), now available on GitHub, providing a valuable tool for astrochemistry research.

Gabriela Silva Presents her Research in the IV Chilean Astrochemistry School

Gabriela Silva attended the IV Chilean Astrochemistry School at Universidad Autónoma de Chile, where she presented her research on interstellar amide formation. The event allowed her to engage with leading astrochemists, fostering discussions and potential collaborations.

Prof. Paul Ayers and Dr. Farnaz Heidar-Zadeh Visit for Research Exchange and Seminar

Professors Paul W. Ayers and Farnaz Heidar-Zadeh visited Prof. Esteban Vöhringer-Martinez’s lab at Universidad de Concepción for two weeks. They collaborated on quantum chemistry software and multireference techniques, presented a seminar on electronic structure advancements, and strengthened global research ties.

Juan Garcés Conducts Research at Rennes Institute of Chemical Sciences with France Excellence Chile Award

Juan Garcés, from the Vogt-Geisse Lab, is conducting research on ring-opening polymerization at the Rennes Institute of Chemical Sciences, focusing on biodegradable plastics and catalyst design. His work integrates theoretical and experimental approaches to advance polymer synthesis.

Dr. Namrata Rani Presents at the XIX SOCHIAS Meeting in Arica, Chile

Dr. Namrata Rani presented her research on thioacetaldehyde synthesis in the interstellar medium at the XIX SOCHIAS Meeting in Arica, Chile, showcasing its viability for future detection. Her talk resulted in discussions, fostering new collaborations with the Chilean astronomy community.

Prof. Rodrigo Recabarren Completes Research Stay at the University of Oxford

Prof. Rodrigo Recabarren conducted a one-month research stay at the University of Oxford, focusing on supramolecular catalyst simulations for the Diels-Alder reaction. He also visited the University of Bristol, gaining insights into virtual reality techniques for molecular simulation. This collaboration enhances the QCMM research group by integrating new computational tools for catalyst design and reaction modeling.

Prof. Vöhringer-Martinez will lead the first associated Max-Planck Laboratory in Chile

With the support of Prof. Grubmüller from the Max-Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen and Prof. Erb from the Max-Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg  the associated Max-Planck Laboratory lead by Prof. Vöhringer-Martinez will use computer simulations to improve CO2 fixation in photosynthesis.

New graduate in Chemistry!

We congratulate Joaquín Portiño on the successful defense of his undergraduate thesis work.

New graduate in Chemistry!

We congratulate Isabel Camus on the successful defense of his undergraduate thesis work.

We say good bye to Tobias Dorer (Max Planck school – Matter to Life)

Complementary to his lab work, Tobias spent three months at the QCMM to simulate the reductive aldol reaction catalysed by mutants of Old Yellow Enzyme (OYE) to find plausible minimum free energy pathways.

 

New graduate in Chemistry!

We congratulate Leandro Valdés on the successful defense of his undergraduate thesis work.

 

Fondecyt Regular 2024

We celebrate Prof. Esteban Vöhringer-Martinez, who was adjudicated a FONDECYT Regular 2024!

New PhD in the QCMM: Dr. Aharon Gómez

QCMM-2022 Photos!

October 27th-28th, 2022

Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile

QCMM 2022 Photos

New PhD in the QCMM: Dr. Duvan Gonzalez

Our PhD student Giulia Bovolenta offered a Latex mini course for the UdeC summer school

The course was in the context of the annual summer school of Universidad de Concepción, this year with the theme “Horizonte de lo Humano”.  The course focused on using Latex together with Overleaf and included topics such as latex history, basic syntax  and graphics.

Dr. Stefan Vogt-Geisse and Giulia Bovolenta had a successful participation in the Chemistry in Star Forming Regions conference in Torino/Italy

Giulia presented a poster with the title: High level ab initio binding energies of Molecules on interstellar ices, and Stefan gave a talk about the new Binding Energy Evaluation Platform (BEEP).

We welcome Prof. Saez to the group

Dr. David Saez was recently appointed as assistant professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry of Universidad de Concepción! We would like to congratulate David for this achievement and are happy to have him as part of our group.

Prof. Vöhringer promoted to Full Professor, congratulations!

In the celebration of the 102th anniversary of Universidad Concepción Prof. Vöhringer-Martinez was promoted to Full Professor. Reaching the highest academic hierarchy being 42 years old he dedicated this recognition to the students, postdocs and colleagues of the QCMM group together with the international collaborators, with whom he had the pleasure to share his passion of doing science.

A new edition of our summer course “Introduction to Python Programing” was finished with great success.

Congratulations to Dr. Esteban Vöhringer-Martinez on his new grant of joint Max Planck and ANID research.

Congratulations to Dr. Maximiliano Riquelme, on his PhD degree and his new job in the Universidad de Valdivia!

An interview in the magazine Vortice with our Italian PhD student Giulia Bovolenta about doing a PhD in Universidad de Concepción

Dr. Stefan Vogt-Geisse is on a sabbatical leave in the Georgia Institute of Technology. He will be back in March of 2019.

QCMM members Prof. Esteban Vöhringer-Martinez and Dr. David Saez are co-authors on an article published in the in the Journal of American Chemical Society.

Python in Chemistry Workshop With lectures of Dr. Toon Verstraelen (Best Coding Practices in Python.) , Dr. Fernaz Heidar (Chemtools) and Dr. Paul Ayers (Horton). Also with a special lecture of Dr. Christopher Rowley.

QCMM @ 44th International Congress of Theoretical Chemists of Latin Expression, Santiago de Chile 2019

Dr. Stefan Vogt gave a talk in the University of Ohio State and at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “Exploring chemistry with second layer software. Examples and applications”

Dr. Voehringer Martinez gave a talk at the conference. “Computer Simulation of Biological Membraners and Free Energy Calculation of Biological Systems”.