Sergi           Ortiz Ropero 🔬

Sergi Ortiz Ropero

(he/him)

Physics & Chemistry BSc graduate

Professional Summary

Sergi Ortiz is a junior researcher and a prospective master's student with special interest in Theoretical Chemistry and Computational Modeling. Honored with an excellence award, the two BScs in Physics and Chemistry have allowed him to pursue research in atomistic modeling, including the study of enzymatic systems at UAB and the study of the physical adequacy of Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials at ICMAB. With a published paper at JACS, he is now focusing on learning Japanese before venturing out further in his scientific career.

Education

Double BSc in Physics and Chemistry

2020 - 2025

Autonomous University of Barcelona

Interests

Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Atomistic Modelling
About my research 🔬

Despite only being a BSc graduate, I have had the great opportunity to engage in cutting-edge research regarding two different perspectives of Physical Modeling. On the one hand, I’ve been working with Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials, a novel AI-driven technique with promising future in the field of molecular simulation. Particularly, my research focuses on the study of the physical foundation of these models and their physical adequacy regarding their applicability to molecular simulations.

On the other hand, I have been able to apply my theoretical knowledge on quantum chemistry and molecular simulation techniques to biochemical systems. Particularly, I’ve worked on the study of human inflammatory pathways through a molecular simulation perspective, ultimately aiming to develop new highly-tageted drugs.

Further information on my research and these projects can be found in the Projects tab. For further information do not hessitate to contact me!

Computational tools and Software 👨‍💻

The variety of programming languages and ML packages and modeling tools is listed briefly below.

FieldTools
ScriptingPython (Numpy, Scipy, Pandas, Sympy, Matplotlib, etc.)・BASH・SLURM・Git
MLTensorFlow・MLIP potentials (UMA, MACE, ANI, ORB)
Quantum ChemistryGaussian・GaussView・ChemShell (QM/MM)
Molecular SimulationAMBER・GROMACS・GOLD Docking・UCSF Chimera・PyMol・VMD
Languages & Cultural commitment

Beyond my interest in Theoretical Chemistry and Computational Modeling, I also enjoy learning languages in my spare time. My current proficiency for each of them is listed below. On a general cultural note, after learning Japanese and completing several stays studying abroad, I can state I am deeply committed to the exchange of different cultures and languages.

LanguageProficiency
SpanishNative speaker
CatalanNative speaker
EnglishCEFR C2
JapaneseJLPT N2 (CEFR B2)
Publications

This is a list of my published work and preprints.

Beyond benchmarks: Importance of the physical adequacy in Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials featured image

Beyond benchmarks: Importance of the physical adequacy in Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials

Important areas such as material design, drug discovery and catalysis rely on modeling the system as set of interacting atoms. Knowledge of these interactions is crucial to …

Rare-Earth Silicates as High-Temperature Surfactants for the Controlled Synthesis of ε-Fe2O3 Nanoparticles featured image

Rare-Earth Silicates as High-Temperature Surfactants for the Controlled Synthesis of ε-Fe2O3 Nanoparticles

The functional properties of nanocrystals can be finely tuned through controlled morphology and size. However, this can be challenging for metastable nanostructures that require …