Screening reveals dozens new candidates for solid electrolytes

In a new article in Energy and Environmental Science (highlighted as a “hot” article by the journal’s editors), scientists in Nicola Marzari’s lab at EPFL present a computational workflow that they used to screen thousands of materials from vastly different families and simulate their electrolytic properties, in the end identifying a handful of promising candidates for solid lithium-ion batteries. The workflow starts from  over 30,000 compounds containing lithium from three of the main databases of experimental structures, filters out the unsuitable ones, and combines DFT, a "pinball model" approximation of Molecular Dynamics and first-principle MD to identify the best potential fast ion conductors. The final list includes 34 materials that deserve further studies.  Solid-state batteries could be a game-changer for electric vehicles and other applications. 

Expert panels gives the European Commission a roadmap for materials innovation

A working group of 22 European experts, including NCCR MARVEL Director Nicola Marzari, has reviewed and compiled the latest evidence on Europe's strategic position in the field of advances materials, and delivered a report that the EU's Chief Scientific Advisors have used to prepare recommendations for the European Commission. For Marzari, “the recognition of European leadership in first-principles simulations is very rewarding, as is the pressing need to generate high-quality computational datasets and train novel foundational models. It is also personally reassuring to see that this was the very forward-looking agenda that MARVEL initiated with its proposal and actions, from 2012 onwards”. Marzari was also a co-author of the Materials Science chapter of the PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe) Scientific and Innovation Case for Computing in Europe 2026-2034, published on 29 April, that provides recommendations to enable AI- and HPC- driven materials discovery.

MARVEL Junior Seminar - May 2026

The MARVEL Junior Seminars aim to intensify interactions between the MARVEL Junior scientists belonging to different research groups – this is held in hybrid mode, in order to maintain in-person contacts and allow off-campus attendees to follow the seminars remotely! We are pleased to propose the 73rd MARVEL Junior Seminar: Bruno Ploumhans (Mathematics for materials modelling - MatMat, EPFL) and Sofia Petrova (Computational Molecular Design Laboratory - LCMD, EPFL) will present their research.

The 2026 Ig Nobel Award Tour show at EPFL — a great evening

With the support of the NCCR MARVEL, on 23 April 2026, the Ig Nobel Award Tour show was once more at EPFL. For the seventh time, the audience could have a good time of science and laughs, with Marc Abrahams and the Ig Nobel Prize winners Mariska Kret, Marcin Zajenkowski, and Chris McManus. It was about synchronization of hearts of new romantic partners, of narcissists being told they are intelligent, or of scrotal asymmetry in man and ancient sculpture.  If you missed it or if you would like to relive its best moments, the video is available. Discover too a portrait of Marc Abrahams in Le Temps.

CECAM-MARVEL Mary Ann Mansigh series: Transgressing boundaries — Erwin Schrödinger and the challenges of scientific biography

CECAM and MARVEL present a new event in our Mary Ann Mansigh Conversation series. In a discussion with Dr Magdalena Gronau, chemist, and Martin Gronau, classicist and scholar of ancient studies,  both at the Leibniz Centre for Literary and Cultural Research in Berlin, drawing on previously unexamined sources, we will reassess controversy surrounding Erwin Schrödinger’s private relationships and offers a new perspective on his complex personal life, taking into account the viewpoints of his female partners, whose voices have remained largely unheard.

Equal opportunity activities for girls and boys in fall 2026

Registration to the activities for girls and boys organized by the EPFL's Science Outreach Department in the coming fall are opening on Monday 18 May at 13:00 and will fill up quickly. With the objective of promoting MARVEL-related fields, especially toward girls, and encouraging them to choose scientific and engineering careers, MARVEL has supported throughout the years such activities, which will continue after the end of the NCCR. Don't miss the registrations for the science workshop Diamants, alu, caoutchouc, ils sont fous ces matériaux (girls 7-10 years old), the Maths en jeu workshops (girls and boys 8-15 years old), and the Coding club des filles (girls 11-15 years old)!

2-week MARVEL-ICTP College: Materials simulations in the age of AI

The 2-week MARVEL-ICTP College in computational materials science will take place on 1-12 June, 2026 at ICTP in Trieste. This college is dedicated first and foremost to the MARVEL community, as well as junior researchers all around the world, with support also for those coming from emerging economies. It aims to bring together graduate students and early-career researchers from all over the world to learn and explore the state-of-the-art in computational materials science in the era of AI, and to forge the next generation of researchers in the field. DEADLINE for registration: 22 February for applicants requiring a visa and 27 March for all other applicants.

MARVEL Fest: party-ing away

On July 9-10, 2026, MARVEL final event at EPFL will close 12 years of research and activities on computational materials science. This event will be dedicated to the accomplishments of MARVEL and to the relevance of these to the industrial and technological ecosystem, inviting alumni and key players worldwide in academia and industry, SNSF review panel, scientific and industrial advisory boards, EPFL leadership, and scientific journalists. Discover the preliminary program of July 9.

Professor (open rank) in data-driven materials discovery at the University of Fribourg

The Faculty of Science and Medicine of the University of Fribourg is inviting applications for the position of Professor of Data-Driven Materials Discovery at the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI). The AMI is a scientifically independent institute supported by a private foundation and integrated into the Faculty of Science and Medicine of the University of Fribourg. The successful candidate will have an exceptional track record of international research excellence in data-driven materials discovery, appropriate to their career stage. Their research programme should encompass artificial intelligence, machine learning and data-driven discovery methods applied to materials such as polymers, colloids, self-assembled systems, biomaterials and living materials. The deadline for applications is May 31, 2026.