Dr. David Wales

Biography

Professor David Wales is a leading researcher in the field of Chemical Physics at the University of Cambridge. His work primarily focuses on energy landscape theory, particularly in relation to studies of tunneling splitting patterns in small molecules as well as computer simulations of protein folding, misfolding, and aggregation of misfolded proteins. He actively leads a research group that investigates global optimization and the thermodynamic and dynamic properties of glasses, delving into the underlying potential energy surfaces (PES). Recent advancements in his research have unveiled new insights into larger systems, utilizing discrete path sampling techniques to efficiently ascertain dynamical properties and calculate protein folding rates. Moreover, his work highlights unexpected connections between dynamics and thermodynamics, particularly through the application of catastrophe theory to energy landscapes, providing new characterizations of phase transitions.

Research Interests