The 4th International Workshop on Quantum Energy will be held in Chengdu, China during October 14 - 17, 2014. This annual workshop on quantum energy is designed to provide a forum for leading theoreticians and experimentalists working in different aspects of advanced materials for clean energy to gather and exchange ideas, visions, and latest research excitements. One particular emphasis is on predictive modeling and simulations of novel energy materials based on quantum mechanical approaches, and critical experimental tests of such theoretical predictions. Each year, the workshop will choose several thrust areas. For this year’s workshop, the thrust areas include solar cell materials, (photo)catalytic materials, and new methodology developments. In addition, latest breakthroughs in clean energy research will always be highlighted in every year’s program. The overall objectives of the annual events are to facilitate synergetic collaborations between theory and experiment, and to catalyze important conceptual discoveries in fundamental energy science and innovations in energy device applications..

This workshop is preceded by Quantum Energy I-III, held in Weihai, Shandong (2011); Yancheng, Jiangsu (2012); and Zhengzhou, Henan (2013). The initial motivation of the workshop was to provide a unique platform for the research teams funded by the Key Program on Energy Materials of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) to exchange ideas and progresses with their peers and a selected group of domestic and international speakers. With the recent awarding of the “111” project on Quantum Design of Novel Energy Materials based at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), this year and beyond the annual workshop will be significantly expanded to also include participants of the oversea and domestic members of the “111” team. Coincidentally, a high percentage of the oversea members from the United States were also former members of the Computational Materials Science Network on Predictive Modeling of the Growth and Properties of Energy-Relevant Thin Films and Nanostructures funded by the US Department of Energy (2005-2010).