The Chemistry Department enthusiastically welcomes Andrés Montoya-Castillo is an Assistant Professor (starting January 2021). His research interests center around developing and applying theory and simulation methods to investigate the dynamics of chemical processes in the condensed phase.
Andrés obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics (2011-2016) from Columbia University working with David Reichman on developing methods to simulate quantum dynamics involving multiple electronic states coupled to nuclear motions, i.e., nonadiabatic dynamics, that encode the mechanisms of energy and charge transfer in the condensed phase. As a postdoc in the Markland group at Stanford University (2016 - 2020), Andrés worked on a wide variety of problems, ranging from developing an exact Cartesian map for fermionic operators to address the structure and dynamics of many-electron problems, to developing new methods and systematically assessing existing approaches to calculate the optical spectroscopy of chromophores in solution, and constructing an accurate and efficient DFT diabatization method to set the stage for the on-the-fly ab initio treatment of nonadiabatic dynamics in the condensed phase.
Andrés is deeply committed to teaching, mentoring, promoting equity, and fostering diversity. His teaching has been recognized by the Jack Miller Award for excellence in teaching while he was at Columbia University. Over the past decade, Andrés has also mentored more than 20 high school, undergraduate, and graduate students as part of the Markland group at Stanford, oSTEM, the Macaulay Honors College Alumni Mentoring Program, and the ESR Foundation (previously the RFK Science Research Institute).