Materials science × Artificial intelligence

Learning the language of matter.

We develop AI and atomistic simulations to understand how materials evolve, react and function.

Four ways into our research

Atomic environments

Explore four ways of connecting atomic structure and materials behaviour.

Atomic-scale interactions.
Far-reaching questions.

We connect atomistic data, symmetry-aware machine learning and simulation to understand how materials evolve and react. Heterogeneous catalysis is a central focus: a setting where changing structures and surface populations shape reaction pathways, rates and selectivity.

MLP training data

Data-Centric AI for Materials Modeling

Better data. Better questions.

We generate, sample and select atomic configurations for reactive machine-learning potentials, and study how training data shape accuracy and transferability.

Learn from interactions

Bond breaking and formation; configuration generation; training-data selection.

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MLP representations

Next-Generation Machine-Learning Potentials

Symmetry, built in.

We develop symmetry-aware representations and efficient architectures for atomic interactions, from Cartesian tensors to local-frame models for rotations, reflections and time reversal.

Respect the physics

Cartesian tensors; local frames; rotations, reflections and time reversal.

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Reactive materials

Realistic Materials Simulation

Catalysis in context.

We connect evolving catalyst structures and surface coverage with reaction mechanisms, rates and selectivity through machine-learning potentials, sampling and microkinetic modeling.

Connect structures and reactions

Evolving active sites; surface coverage; sampling and microkinetics.

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Materials discovery

AI-Driven Materials Discovery

New possibilities, evaluated.

We explore generative methods and simulation to propose and evaluate promising materials, with the longer-term aim of guiding informative experimental investigations.

Propose. Evaluate. Refine.

Generative candidates; first-principles evaluation; simulation-informed interpretation.

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Selected research

Studies in atomistic data, physical representations and machine learning.

All publications

Methods you can build on.

Model architectures, pretrained potentials, equivariant operations and training data.

Software & Data
01TACE Model FamilyModel architectures

A family of equivariant atomistic models built around tensor representations and flexible physical embeddings, including TACE, TECE and magnetic TACE (mTACE).

TACE
Equivariant atomistic modeling with Cartesian tensor representations and flexible physical embeddings.
TECE
An edge cluster expansion with radial rotary attention for atomistic modeling.
mTACE
Magnetic atomistic models using local O(2) operators, with separate treatments for systems with and without spin–orbit coupling.
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02TACE FoundationsPretrained models

Pretrained TACE-family models for atomistic simulation and fine-tuning. The model hub and usage guide describe the available releases and their intended applications.

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03EquivariantXEquivariant operations

A library of equivariant operations for atomistic modeling, bringing together Cartesian tensor tools and local O(2) representation maps, frame transformations and operators.

cartnn / Cartesian-3j
Reference implementations of irreducible Cartesian tensor operations and equivariant interatomic architectures accompanying the Cartesian-3j study.
Local O(2) Operators
Composable representation maps and frame transformations that account for rotations and reflections, with time-reversal labels for magnetic quantities.
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04REICOTraining data

An interaction-based approach to generating training data for general reactive element-based potentials. The linked studies address transferability and model construction for heterogeneous catalysis.

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Notes from the lab

All news

Work on the next question.

We welcome enquiries from students and researchers interested in materials science, theoretical chemistry and machine learning.

Research opportunities
City University of Hong KongDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering