Dr. Daniel B. K. Chu
- Barak Hirshberg
- Lab website
Daniel Chu aspires to be at the forefront of computational chemistry research, combining machine learning, mathematical, and algorithmic advances to facilitate chemical and materials discovery for a sustainable world. For their PhD in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which was supported by a generous multi-year National Science Foundation grant, Daniel developed physics-based, mathematical models for the acceleration of transition metal complex discovery. Daniel worked with colleagues to combine these models with machine‑learning methods and applied the models for accelerated screening of molecular catalysts for direct methane-to-methanol conversion. Their models can infer reaction energetics with reasonable certainty for a fraction of the cost, and Daniel hopes that the models will facilitate the discovery of more efficient catalysts.
In response to the spread of misinformation after October 7th, Daniel participated in interfaith dialogues and organized several events that brought Israeli and Muslim speakers to campus to speak out against extremism and hate. Daniel then chose a postdoctoral position in Israel, at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Center for Computational Molecular and Materials Science with Dr. Barak Hirshberg.
Daniel’s postdoctoral research will examine processes that occur rarely or on relatively long timescales, such as misfolding proteins, which are responsible for such debilitating neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. While the Hirshberg Lab at TAU has pioneered novel applications of stochastic (random) resetting methods to molecular dynamics simulations, Daniel’s research will incorporate recent advances in machine learning and mathematical modeling to accelerate the simulations further. Such simulations could reveal the cause of these neurodegenerative diseases and lead to new treatment methods.