Science related resources
Last updated
Last updated
If you have a specific question, sometimes the easiest solution is to post it to the Slack group and crowdsource the answer.
As an LBNL employee, you can get access to almost any book you’d like using various channels:
LBNL has its own library, but it is small and unlikely to contain the book you want.
LBNL employees can borrow books from the UC Berkeley Library collection using your LBNL ID. You can even reserve the book online and have it delivered to the LBNL library office in building 50, saving you a trip down to campus (this is what I do). Log in through via “My Oskicat” and choose the LBNL login option.
Your local library (e.g., Berkeley Public Library) often participates in Interlibrary loans. For example, the “Link+” system at Berkeley Public Library connects to many other university libraries in the area. Again, you can have the items delivered to your local library. This service is extremely useful when an item cannot be found at UC Berkeley or if that item has a long waiting list.
Our group has some technical books that you can loan. See Appendix K: Group library.
If you are struggling to find a paper (for example, it is a translation of a russian article and was published in a now defunct journal with no online archive in the 1940’s) then send a polite email to library@lbl.gov with as many details as possible. Prepare to be impressed.
You can also purchase books with research funds.
“Don’t despair of standard dull textbooks. Just close the book once in awhile and think what they just said in your own terms as a revelation of the spirit and wonder of nature”. -- Richard Feynman
It can be difficult to find resources that explain concepts in materials science clearly. Often, struggling through multiple attempts to understand a topic using several different resources in a patchwork and non-linear fashion is the only way forward. That said, the resources listed below are particularly helpful.
For beginners to density functional theory, I would recommend the book “Density Functional Theory: A Practical Introduction”, which truly achieves what it states by providing physical insights and relevant information rather than just list equations. A copy is available within the group.
Note that this book has chosen to use the Atomic Simulation Environment (ASE) to set up simulations rather than the pymatgen code that we prefer, but that is a minor point.
To gain a quick introduction to many topics in materials science, you might try the (horribly-named) web site from the University of Cambridge: Dissemination of IT for the Promotion of Materials Science (DoITPoMS):
The explanations in this site are very basic, but what they do cover is well-explained and incorporates helpful visuals. Although you won’t ever master a topic from this site, it is often a good starting point that can help you unlock a more intermediate resource.
If you are interested to explore applications of density functional theory, you might try the E-book from Professor John Kitchin:
Finally, for specific calculations with VASP, there are resources online from a 2016 workshop conducted at LBNL, including videos and training materials:
There are also some nice chapters in the following e-book: For example, Chapter 5 has a nice rundown of common crystal structures.
Note, the high-symmetry labels may occasionally differ from those on the Materials Project.
The LBNL library maintains a subscription to many tools and databases for materials science such as SpringerMaterials. A list of these is available here: