| Citation | Professor Ali Alavi, Professor of Theoretical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge and Director, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart
Ali Alavi is distinguished for his highly original contributions to the computation of electron correlation effects in atoms and molecules. His idea of using Monte Carlo sampling of Slater Determinants constitutes a breakthrough as it circumvents the Fermion sign problem. He developed efficient algorithms (FCIQMC) for this, which enables the accurate treatment of larger systems than could be handled by any earlier method. He has applied the technique to outstanding quantum chemical problems. He has also contributed to the study of reaction mechanisms on surfaces and developed a finite-temperature density-functional method which proved particularly useful for metals and metallic surfaces.
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