SCHULTEN, Klaus

Swanlund Professor of Physics
Ph.D. (1974) Harvard University

   Research Topics

  Theoretical physics and theoretical biology.  Prof. Schulten's current research focuses on the structure and function of supramolecular systems in the living cell, and on the development of new algorithms and efficient computing tools for structural biology.

  Research Interests  

   Klaus Schulten’s current research focuses on the structure and function of supramolecular systems in the living cell, and on the development of new algorithms and efficient computing tools for structural biology.  The investigations explore the physical mechanisms underlying the transformation of light energy into electrical membrane potentials and the synthesis of ATP in photosynthetic systems, as well as the storage and control of genetic information in all cells.  The group develops a theory of the classical and quantum dynamical motion of biopolymers which utilizes numerical  experiments, non-equalibrium statistical mechanics, elasticity theory, and the theory of disordered systems.

   Technology efforts focus on the development of efficient software that facilitates the analysis, modeling and visualization of the molecular apparatus in biological cells.  The software supports rational drug design and is freely available (source code and binaries) to laboratories where biomolecular aggregates are discovered and measured.  A haptic (force feedback) interface, integrated with the group’s visualization program VMD and parallel simulation engine NAMD, enables researchers to perform interactive molecular dynamics (IMD) within the group’s collaborative environment BioCoRE with BioCoRE researchers can visualize information, share resources and interact with each other and with structural biology tools via a common infrastructure.

   Keywords  Theoretical biophysics, Computational Biology, Quantum Chemistry, Biopolymer Aggregates, Bioenergetic Proteins, Molecular Graphics, Parallel Computing Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Interactive Molecular Dynamics

   Current Research Funding  NIH, NSF, NFSP

Theoretical Biophysics Group
Welcome to Students
Research at a Glance
Publications
VMD
NAMD
BioCoRE