Last week, I attended the 3rd International Workshop on Theory Frontiers in Actinide Science (FACT 2026), hosted at the University of Washington (UW) and organized by a committee led by Xiaosong Li. The UW campus provided a beautiful contrast to the deep dives into theoretical relativistic chemistry. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, nicely framed against the distant view of Mt. Rainier.
The room was filled with giants in the field of theoretical chemistry, alongside a few experimentalists in the mix to keep things grounded. The scientific focus was on simulating molecular actinide systems with the highest accuracy by including relativistic effects, multi-reference effects, and even quantum electrodynamics effects, all for the sake of capturing the complex electronic structure of actinides. For someone who humbly spends most of their time with DFT and MD methods, it was fascinating to see the limits of chemical accuracy achieved in computational chemistry today.
Beyond the talks, the real value came from chats over coffee breaks and during the poster session. I had great conversations with scientists from all over the world, and particularly with researchers from the national labs. Hearing their experience was motivating and gave me fresh ideas for my projects.
After three days of intense focus on actinide theory, I headed down to Pike Place Market with a group of newly met friends. It was probably the hottest day in Seattle so far this year, and the atmosphere was amazing, filled with energy from the market and the distinct smell of fresh fish and cheese coming from local shops.
Overall, it was a wonderfully organized conference and an incredible opportunity to be there and connect with fellow actinide enthusiasts.
