Master's thesis presentation. Utkarsh is advised by Tobias Bauer and Prof. Dr. Christian Mendl.
The SCCS Colloquium is a forum giving students, guests, and members of the chair the opportunity to present their research insights, results, and challenges. Do you need ideas for your thesis topic? Do you want to meet your potential supervisor? Do you want to discuss your research with a diverse group of researchers, rehearse your conference talk, or simply cheer for your colleagues? Then this is the right place for you (and you are also welcome to bring your friends along).
Upcoming talks
Utkarsh Saraswat: Optimized basis sets for electronic structure calculations
SCCS Colloquium |
The earliest attempt to study electronic structure of atoms is nearly as old as the discovery of subatomic particles itself. Several theories to approximate molecular orbitals have been developed, nevertheless determining precise electronic structure of large molecules is one of the most challenging problems, so much so that we are looking forward to quantum computers to solve it.
Tensor networks are efficient tools to study quantum many body physics and chemistry as one could i) represent states of many body systems in the form of n-dimensional tensors as nodes ii) Keep track of correlations between different states as edges in a graph. However computational complexity of a general tensor network can be huge, where contraction algorithms have an overall complexity that is a multiple of the individual complexity of a single tensor. As a result, scaling has a drastic impact on computational resources and it is desirable to have an orthogonal basis of electronic structure to get diagonal/sparse tensors.
In our thesis the primary goal is to find an orthogonal and complete basis set which can solve the Schrodinger equation of multi-electron systems. We have described unitary circuit methodology discovered by Steven White to generate an orthogonal basis just by using a sequence of linear transformations. Later we will go into detailed implementation of orthogonal Gausslet basis and apply it to trapped ion and quantum dot systems. The scope of our work can be further extended to finding computationally efficient algorithms to calculate expectation value (and hence energy corresponding to a given electronic state).
You don't want to miss a talk? Subscribe to our mailing list and our Colloquium calendar .
Contribute a talk
To register and schedule a talk, you should fill the form Colloquium Registration at least four weeks before the earliest preferred date. Keep in mind that we only have limited slots, so please plan your presentation early. In special cases, contact colloquium(at)mailsccs.in.tum.de.
Colloquium sessions are now on-campus. We have booked room MI 02.07.023 for WS24/25. You can either bring your own laptop or send us the slides as a PDF ahead of time. The projector only has an HDMI connection, so please bring your own adapters if necessary.
Do you want to attend but cannot make it in person? We now have a hybrid option. Simply join us through this BBB room: https://bbb.in.tum.de/shu-phv-eyq-rad
We invite students doing their Bachelor's or Master's thesis, as well as IDP, Guided Research, or similar projects at SCCS to give one 20min presentation to discuss their results and potential future work. The time for this is typically after submitting your final text. Check also with your study program regarding any requirements for a final presentation of your project work.
New: In regular times, we will now have slots for presenting early stage projects (talk time 2-10min). This is an optional opportunity for getting additional feedback early and there is no strict timeline.
Apart from students, we also welcome doctoral candidates and guests to present their projects.
During the colloquium, things usually go as follows:
- 10min before the colloquium starts, the speakers setup their equipment with the help of the moderator. The moderator currently is Ana Cukarska. Make sure to be using an easily identifiable name in the online session's waiting room.
- The colloquium starts with an introduction to the agenda and the moderator asks the speaker's advisor/host to put the talk into context.
- Your talk starts. The scheduled time for your talk is normally 20min with additional 5-10min for discussion.
- During the discussion session, the audience can ask questions, which are meant for clarification or for putting the talk into context. The audience can also ask questions in the chat.
- Congratulations! Your talk is over and it's now time to celebrate! Have you already tried the parabolic slides that bring you from the third floor to the Magistrale?
Do you remember a talk that made you feel very happy for attending? Do you also remember a talk that confused you? What made these two experiences different?
Here are a few things to check if you want to improve your presentation:
- What is the main idea that you want people to remember after your presentation? Do you make it crystal-clear? How quickly are you arriving to it?
- Which aspects of your work can you cover in the given time frame, with a reasonable pace and good depth?
- What can you leave out (but maybe have as back-up slides) to not confuse or overwhelm the audience?
- How are you investing the crucial first two minutes of your presentation?
- How much content do you have on your slides? Is all of it important? Will the audience know which part of a slide to look at? Will somebody from the last row be able to read the content? Will somebody with limited experience in your field have time to understand what is going on?
- Are the figures clear? Are you explaining the axes or any other features clearly?
In any case, make sure to start preparing your talk early enough so that you can potentially discuss it, rehearse it, and improve it.
Here are a few good videos to find out more:
- Simon Peyton Jones: How to Give a Great Research Talk (see also How to Write a Great Research Paper)
- Susan McConnell: Designing effective scientific presentations
- Jens Weller: Presenting Code
Did you know that the TUM English Writing Center can also help you with writing good slides?
Work with us!
Do your thesis/student project in Informatics / Mathematics / Physics: Student Projects at the SCCS.