CECAM Prize awarded to Herman Berendsen

CECAM

Professor Berendsen, through the development of the GROMOS package and the associated force fields, has used simulation to study fundamental processes in biochemistry and molecular biology. His important methodological contributions include the weak coupling strategy for constant pressure and temperature dynamics and the SHAKE algorithm for constraint dynamics. His force fields for water are extensively used in bimolecular simulations.

The Berni J. Alder CECAM Prize recognizes exceptional contributions to the field of microscopic simulation of matter. The prize is meant to honour an individual scientist; exceptionally it can be awarded to at most three scientists having equally contributed to the specific topic for which the prize is granted. This is the most prestigious European prize for computer simulations in condensed matter physics/chemistry, statistical physics and physical chemistry. The 5000 Euros prize, awarded every three years, was originally created in 1999.