About me

Hi, I am Chong Sun [孙 (Sun1) 冲 (Chong1) in Chinese], a theoretical and computational chemist. I recieved my Ph.D. in 2020 from the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (CCE), California Institute of Technology, under the supervision of Prof. Garnet Kin-Lic Chan. My dissertation is on Finite-Temperature Simulations of Strongly Correlationed Systems. I then worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Alan Aspuru-Guzik on novel numerical methods for electronic structures. Currently, I am working with Prof. Gustavo Scuseria to build my analytical skills for quantum chemistry.

Research Interest

My goal as a scientist is to expand our knowledge of the microscopic world (molecules, polymers, solid state materials and even nuclear structures) with numerical tools. I come from a quantum-chemistry background, where I developed my physical and chemical intuition in approaching problems, and received rigorous training in mathematical analysis, numerical methods and coding. Later I was exposed to quantum computing (QC) and deep learning (DL), two rising fields that we can benefit from. Having knowledge in QC and DL not only expanded my tool boxes, but also made me re-examine my role as a computational scientist.

My short term goal is to incorporate the current tools we have to describe molecules and materials with high presicion, and to predict new physics. My ultimate dream is to build a simulatable world.