The SMART (Space-time Multiscale Applications for Research and Technology) Laboratory at Scuola Normale Superiore was established in 2016. g. D.
SMART focuses on the development of simulation and number crunching methods. The models developed at SMART are used by many researchers around the world, both in accademia and industry. The nexus of scientific research at SMART is the development, validation and application of algorithms and software to model molecular systems and forecast their properties under different environmental conditions,
with particular emphasis on spectroscopic properties across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Theoretical developments are implement in widely available software for use by other researchers. This is of great scientific and technological impact, for example, in the development of Smart Materials, substances whose properties can be controlled or changed with accuracy by means of external stimuli (e. temperature, light). Modern numerical simulations are able to generate huge amounts of complex, non-structured data, which can change in nature and whose size can grow rather quickly, which forces one to resort to Big Data technologies to handle them. Therefore, the development and application of algorithms for the automatic analysis of data and application of Machine Learning methods to pre- and post- processing steps are an important lines of research. SMART is also highly involved in the development of Immersive Virtual Reality to Scientific Visualization. The possibility of natural interaction with the visualized objects and the use of proprioception for a quick and intuitive grasp of complex structures should allow for a further evolution in interactive data visualization. This is particularly true when dealing with complex objects far from our usual perception scale. The SMART staff is formed by about 40 people including senior staff (professors and researchers), post Docs, Ph. and undergraduate students and technical staff.
