Gerbrand Ceder

R. P. Simmons Professor of Materials Science and Engineering

Metallurgy and Materials Science Engineer, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, 1988
PhD Materials Science, University of California, Berkeley, 1991 

Room 13-5056, 77 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, MA  02139
617-253-1581 (phone) 617-258-6534 (fax)
gceder@mit.edu
Research Group

Professor Ceder's group specializes in designing and understanding advanced materials by means of computational modeling and experimental research. By combining theoretical and experimental efforts in one group, the effectiveness of both is enhanced. First principles computations, whereby the properties of materials are predicted from basic physics, has become one of the most powerful tools in Materials Research and Design. This group develops these tools and applies them to technologically relevant problems, often in collaboration with key industrial or government partners. Materials phenomena include: phase stability and cohesion in solids, diffusion, interaction of matter with radiation, and phase transformation. Applications have included: high temperature superconductors, electrodes for rechargeable batteries, and high temperature alloys. The environment is highly multidisplinary, containing students with a range of backgrounds making use of cutting edge techniques from such fields as materials science, engineering, chemistry, physics, computer science, and mathematics.

Selected Publications

K. Kang, Y.S. Meng, J. Bréger, C. Grey, G. Ceder, "Electrodes with High Power and High Capacity for Rechargeable Li Batteries," Science, 311, 977–980 (2006).

C. Fischer, K. Tibbetts, D. Morgan, G. Ceder, "Predicting Crystal Structure: Merging Data Mining with Quantum Mechanics," Nature Materials, 5 (8), pp. 641–6 (2006).

F. Zhou, T. Maxisch, G. Ceder, "Configurational Electronic Entropy and the Phase Diagram of Mixed-Valence Oxide: The Case of LixFePO₄," Physical Review Letters, 97, 155704 (2006).

L. Wang, F. Zhou, Y. S. Meng, G. Ceder, "First-Principles Study of Surface Properties of LiFePO₄: Surface Energy, Structure, Wulff Shape, and Surface Redox Potential," Physical Review B, 76, 165435 (2007).

B.C. Han, C.R. Miranda, and G. Ceder, "Effect of Particle Size and Surface Structure on Adsorption of O and OH on Platinum Nanoparticles: A First-Principles Study," Physical Review B, 77, 075410 (2008).

Van de Walle, G. Ceder, "The Effect of Lattice Vibrations on Substitutional Alloy Thermodynamics," Reviews of Modern Physics, 74, 11–45 (2002).

Older News

• The Sept. 2006 MRS Bulletin cover depicted an image generated by Tim Mueller in Prof. Ceder's group. The Ceder group's work on developing new technologies for rechargeable lithium batteries was reported in the Feb. 17, 2006, issue of Science. See the MIT News Office for further details.
• In Oct. 2005, Tech Talk wrote about the research Prof. Ceder and his colleagues are doing in applying cluster expansion, a computational technique commonly used for alloy design, to proteins.
• Prof. Ceder and the Lab for Computational Materials Science were profiled in Tech Talk and in the Jan. 2004 issue of Technology Insider. The July 2003 issue of Technology Insider's article on "Portable Power for the 21st Century and Beyond" details work done by Prof. Ceder and his group.