International Francqui Professor Vincent Meunier inaugural lecture
Each year, the Francqui Foundation awards three International Francqui Professor of Chairs, which allow the stay of a foreign scientist in Belgium for an uninterrupted period of three to six months and need to involve at least 2 Belgian universities.
The International Francqui Professor Chair is aimed at researchers of a very high level and with a world reputation.
Prof. Vincent Meunier is the Head of the Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in the state of New York, USA, where he holds the Gail and Jeffrey L. Kodosky ’70 Constellation Chair. He earned a PhD from the University of Namur in 1999 under the supervision of Prof. Philippe Lambin. He was a Senior R&D staff member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory until 2010 when he joined Rensselaer as an Associate Professor. He became Full Professor in 2015, shortly before being appointed as Head of Department.
Vincent Meunier's teaching focuses on Computational Physics and Quantum Mechanics education. He strives to bring modern computational approaches to the classroom, including state-of-the-art algorithms and the practical use of high-performance computing.
He leads the Innovative Computational Material Physics (ICMP) group at Rensselaer. He is a very active expert in the modeling of the properties of new materials, including 2D materials. His research uses computation to examine the atom-level details of materials. He is particularly interested in low-dimensional materials and domains where he can collaboratively work with engineers and experimentalists to optimize these materials, starting at the atomic level and targeting functionality.
The task of the professor of the International Francqui Professor Chair includes:
- an Inaugural Lecture.
- active participation in the scientific program of the groups concerned.
- a contribution to the formation of young scientists through contacts and seminars.
- a mini-final symposium (with the intervention of the Francqui Foundation).
Prof. Meunier’s inaugural Francqui lecture on "The Role of Low-Dimensional Materials in The Second Quantum Revolution" took place on 26 September 2019 (auditorium PA02 - UNamur). With Professor Luc Henrard ( NISM Institute, Head of the Physics Departement at UNamur), the co-inviters are Profs. Jean-Christophe Charlier (UCL), Mathieu Verstraete (ULG) and François Peeters (UAntwerpen).
