chemistry

Martin Head-Gordon

Martin Head-Gordon is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Martin Head-Gordon rather than just read about it. In short: Martin Paul Head-Gordon (né Martin Paul Head) is a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory working in the area of computational quantum chemistry. He is a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science.

Key takeaways

Martin Head-Gordon belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Martin Head-Gordon to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Martin Head-Gordon from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Martin Paul Head-Gordon (né Martin Paul Head) is a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory working in the area of computational quantum chemistry. He is a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science.

Education A native of Australia, Head-Gordon received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Monash University, followed by a PhD from Carnegie Mellon University working under the supervision of John Pople developing a number of useful techniques including the Head-Gordon-Pople scheme for the evaluation of integrals, and the orbital rotation picture of orbital optimization.

Career and research At Berkeley, Head-Gordon supervises a group interested in pairing methods, local correlation methods, dual-basis methods, scaled MP2 methods, new efficient algorithms, and very recently corrections to the Kohn-Sham density functional framework. Head-Gordon is one of the founders of Q-Chem Inc.

Awards and honors In 2015, Head-Gordon was elected a Member of the National Academy of Sciences.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Martin Head-Gordon

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Martin Head-Gordon claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Martin Head-Gordon before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Martin Head-Gordon ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Martin Head-Gordon

In research: Martin Head-Gordon appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Martin Head-Gordon in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Martin Head-Gordon is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1962 births, Australian emigrants to the United States, Australian scientist stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Martin Head-Gordon outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Martin Head-Gordon in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Martin Head-Gordon means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Martin Head-Gordon out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Martin Head-Gordon in simple terms?

Why does Martin Head-Gordon matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Martin Head-Gordon?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Martin Head-Gordon.