David Prendergast
Staff Scientist
Theory of Nanostructured Materials Facility
510.486.4948
dgprendergast@lbl.gov
Education:
2002 Ph.D., Physics, University College Cork, Ireland
1999 B.Sc., Physics and Mathematics, University College Cork, Ireland
Professional History:
2007-present Staff Scientist, Materials Sciences Division, LBNL
2005-2007 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physics, UC Berkeley and Chemical Sciences Division, LBNL
2002-2005 Postdoctoral Fellow, Quantum Simulations Group, LLNL
Research Interests
Current research is concentrated on predicting x-ray absorption spectra of a wide range of materials from first principles and developing new and efficient approaches to electronic structure problems. I have developed a parameter-free, predictive approach to simulating and interpreting x-ray spectra and I am currently applying it to aqueous systems and nanostructures.
I am also developing more efficient computational approaches to the calculation of excited state properties. Electron addition and removal energies, computed with the GW approximation, and electron-hole excited states, computed by solving the Bethe- Salpeter equation (BSE), are prohibitively expensive for large systems. By using a more compact representation for the electron Hamiltonian, I reduce the overall cost of such calculations. This work is being applied to nanoscale interfaces, with particular focus on energy level alignments of relevance to photovoltaic devices.
Postdoctoral research focused on optically excited states in metallic carbon nanotubes using the GW-BSE approach. I have also explored the electronic properties of water and aqueous systems in ground and excited states using density functional theory, with particular application to the theoretical prediction of x-ray absorption spectra of liquid water at ambient conditions. Also, I have analyzed the impact of aqueous solvation on the characteristics of optically active molecules and silicon nanostructures. Graduate research centered on developing efficient algorithmic tools to aid in the optimization of many-body wave functions for use in quantum Monte Carlo calculations, with particular application to assessing differences in the form of electron correlation in diamond and graphite.
Highlights
User project with the Saykally Group at UC Berkeley:
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← Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics cover article
Chemical Physics Letters Frontiers Article → |
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User project with University of Buffalo and SEMATECH:
Scientific American: Wrinkles rankle graphene
Today at LBL: The Straight Story on Graphene
WNED (with audio): Local researchers try to unlock lucrative potential of graphene
MRS Bulletin: Nano Focus: Electron clouds distortion on graphene surface harm conductivity
User project with the Saykally Group at UC Berkeley:
Berkeley Lab News Center: Dancing in the Dark: Berkeley Lab Scientists Shed New Light on Protein-Salt Interactions
NERSC Exhibit Hall video from SC10 (courtesy of Richard Gerber).
Publications
2011
Tuning Semiconductor Band Edge Energies for Solar Photocatalysis via Surface Ligand Passivation. Shenyuan Yang, David Prendergast, and Jeffrey B. Neaton, Nano Letters ASAP (Dec 2011).[abstract]
Algorithm for efficient elastic transport calculations for arbitrary device geometries. Douglas J. Mason, David Prendergast, Jeffrey B. Neaton, and Eric J. Heller, Physical Review B 84, 155401 (2011).[abstract]
On the Hydration and Hydrolysis of Carbon Dioxide. Alice H England, Andrew M Duffin, Craig P Schwartz, Janel S Uejio, David Prendergast, Richard J Saykally, Chemical Physics Letters 514, 187 (2011).[abstract]
Electronic structure of aqueous borohydride: a potential hydrogen storage medium. Andew M. Duffin, Alice H. England, Craig P. Schwartz, Janel S. Uejio, Gregory C. Dallinger, Orion Shih, David Prendergast, and Richard J. Saykally, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 13, 17077 (2011).[abstract]
Imaging local electronic corrugations and doped regions in graphene. Brian J. Schultz, Christopher J. Patridge, Vincent Lee, Cherno Jaye, Patrick S. Lysaght, Casey Smith, Joel Barnett, Daniel A. Fischer, David Prendergast, and Sarbajit Banerjee, Nature Communications 2, 372 (2011).[abstract]
Electronic structure of warm dense copper studied by ultrafast x-ray absorption spectroscopy. B. I. Cho, K. Engelhorn, A. A. Correa, T. Ogitsu, C. P. Weber, H. J. Lee, J. Feng, P. A. Ni, Y. Ping, A. J. Nelson, D. Prendergast, R. W. Lee, R. W. Falcone, and P. A Heimann, Physical Review Letters 106, 167601 (2011).[abstract]
pH-Dependent X-ray Absorption Spectra of Aqueous Boron Oxides. Andrew M. Duffin, Craig P. Schwartz, Alice H. England, Janel S. Uejio, David Prendergast, and Richard J. Saykally, Journal of Chemical Physics 134, 154503 (2011).[abstract]
Non-linear Variations in the Electronic Structure of II-VI and III-V Wurtzite Semiconductors with Biaxial Strain. Shenyuan Yang, David Prendergast, and Jeffrey B. Neaton, Applied Physics Letters 98, 152108 (2011).[abstract]
2010
Importance of electronic relaxation for intercoulombic decay in aqueous systems. Craig P. Schwartz, Shervin Fatehi, Richard J. Saykally, and David Prendergast, Physical Review Letters 105, 198102 (2010).[abstract]
Importance of on-site corrections to the electronic and structural properties of InN in crystalline solid, nonpolar surface, and nanowire forms. A. Terentjevs, A. Catellani, D. Prendergast, and G. Cicero, Physical Review B 82, 165307 (2010).[abstract]
Strain-Induced Band Gap Modification in Coherent Core/Shell Nanostructures. Shenyuan Yang, David Prendergast, and Jeffrey B. Neaton, Nano Letters 10, 3156 (2010).[abstract]
Investigation of Protein Conformation and Interactions with Salts via X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy. Craig Schwartz, Janel Uejio, Andrew Duffin, Alice England, Daniel Kelly, David Prendergast, and Richard Saykally, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107, 14008 (2010).[abstract]
Local Effects in the X-ray Absorption Spectrum of Salt Water. Heather J. Kulik, Nicola Marzari, Alfredo A. Correa, David Prendergast, Eric Schwegler, and Giulia Galli, Journal of Physical Chemistry B 114, 9594 (2010).[abstract]
An analysis of the NEXAFS Spectra of a molecular crystal: α-Glycine. Craig P. Schwartz, Richard J. Saykally, and David Prendergast, Journal of Chemical Physics 133, 044507 (2010).[abstract]
Warm dense matter created by isochoric laser heating. Y. Ping, A.A. Correa, T. Ogitsu, E. Draeger, E. Schwegler, T. Ao, K. Widmann, D.F. Price, E. Lee, H. Tam, P.T. Springer, D. Hanson, I. Koslow, D. Prendergast, G. Collins and A. Ng, High Energy Density Physics 6, 246 (2010).[abstract]
Monopeptide vs. Monopeptoid: Insights on Structure and Hydration of Aqueous Alanine and Sarcosine via X-Ray Absorption Spectra. Janel S. Uejio, Craig P. Schwartz, Andrew M. Duffin, Alice H. England, David Prendergast, and Richard J. Saykally, Journal of Physical Chemistry B 114, 4702 (2010).[abstract]
Nuclear quantum effects in the structure and lineshapes of the N2 near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectrum. Shervin Fatehi, Craig P. Schwartz, Richard J. Saykally, and David Prendergast, Journal of Chemical Physics 132, 094302 (2010).[abstract]
2009
Bloch-state-based interpolation: An efficient generalization of the Shirley approach to interpolating electronic structure. David Prendergast and Steven G. Louie, Physical Review B 80, 235126 (2009).[abstract]
First-principles calculations of solid and liquid aluminum optical absorption spectra near the melting curve: Ambient and high-pressure results. Tadashi Ogitsu, Lorin X. Benedict, Eric Schwegler, Erik W. Draeger, and David Prendergast, Physical Review B 80, 214105 (2009).[abstract]
Auto-oligomerization and hydration of pyrrole revealed by x-ray absorption spectroscopy. C. P. Schwartz, J. S. Uejio, A. M. Duffin, A. H. England, D. Prendergast, and R. J. Saykally, Journal of Chemical Physics 131, 114509 (2009).[abstract]
On the importance of Nuclear Quantum Motion in Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) Spectroscopy of Molecules. C. P. Schwartz, J. S. Uejio, R. J. Saykally, and D. Prendergast, Journal of Chemical Physics 130, 184109 (2009).[abstract]
Electron−Hole Interaction in Carbon Nanotubes: Novel Screening and Exciton Excitation Spectra. J. Deslippe, M. Dipoppa, D. Prendergast, M. V. O. Moutinho, R. B. Capaz and S. G. Louie, Nano Letters 9, 1330 (2009).[abstract]
2008
Effects of vibrational motion on core-level spectra of prototype organic molecules. J. S. Uejio, C. P. Schwartz, R. J. Saykally, and D. Prendergast, Chemical Physics Letters 467, 195 (2008).[abstract]
Dielectric function of warm dense gold. Y. Ping, D. Hanson, I. Koslow, T. Ogitsu, D. Prendergast, E. Schwegler, G. Collins, and A. Ng, Physics of Plasmas 15, 056303 (2008).[abstract]
2007
Bound excitons in metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes. J. Deslippe, C. D. Spataru, D. Prendergast, and S. G. Louie, Nano Letters 7, 1626 (2007).[abstract]
Phonon dispersion relations and softening in photoexcited bismuth from first principles. E. D. Murray, S. Fahy, D. Prendergast, T. Ogitsu, D. M. Fritz, D. A. Reis, Physical Review B 75, 184301 (2007).[abstract]
Electronic Bonding Transition in Compressed SiO2 Glass. J. F. Lin, H. Fukui, D. Prendergast, T. Okuchi, Y. Q. Cai, N. Hiraoka, C. S. Yoo, A. Trave, P. Eng, M. Y. Hu, P. Chow, Physical Review B 75, 012201 (2007).[abstract]
2006
Broadband Dielectric Function of Nonequilibrium Warm Dense Gold. Y. Ping, D. Hanson, I. Koslow, T. Ogitsu, D. Prendergast, E. Schwegler, G. Collins, and A. Ng, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review Letters 96, 255003 (2006).[abstract]
X-ray absorption spectra of water from first-principles calculations. David Prendergast and Giulia Galli, Physical Review Letters, 96, 215502 (2006).[abstract]
2005
The electronic structure of liquid water within density functional theory. David Prendergast, Jeffrey C. Grossman, and Giulia Galli, Journal of Chemical Physics, 123, 014501 (2005).[abstract]
2004
Optical properties of silicon nanoparticles in the presence of water: A first principles theoretical analysis. David Prendergast, Jeffrey C. Grossman, Andrew J. Williamson, Jean-Luc Fattebert, and Giulia Galli, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 126, 13827 (2004).[abstract]
2002
Optimization of inhomogeneous electron correlation factors in periodic solids. David Prendergast, David Bevan, and Stephen Fahy, Physical Review B, 66, 155104 (2002).[abstract]
2001
Impact of electron-electron cusp on Configuration Interaction
energies.
David Prendergast, M. Nolan, Claudia Filippi, Stephen Fahy, and J. C.
Greer,
Journal of Chemical Physics, 115, 1626 (2001).[abstract]
Jobs
All open positions in the Prendergast Group have been filled. In advance of future employment opportunities in our group, please feel free to contact me.
