Electrons to Empires: A First-principles View on Science, Technology, and Politics in a Materials World

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• Professor Nicola Marzari
• Tuesday 17 February 2026, 18:00-19:00
• Pfizer Lecture Theatre, Department of Chemistry, Lensfield Road.

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Human development has long been intertwined with the development of materials — from the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages to the current Anthropocene, where the well-being of more than eight billion people and the sustainability of our development model have become existential challenges. Firmly at the core of the human footprint, materials enable the technologies that power our economy and support — or fail to support — our society. Computing, and more recently AI, have entered the fray as additional accelerators of our scientific and technological pipeline. I will try to provide an overview of what is possible, why it matters, and what we should do more of.

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