SoCalTheoChem 9

July 7, 2026
Two-panel scientific plot comparing potential energy surfaces of HCCO- (left) and HNCN- (right) using 3D surfaces and 2D contour maps. Energy goes from low (blue) to high (red) as a function of bond displacement and bending angle. HCCO- shows a single low-energy blue valley centered at 180 degrees. HNCN- shows a double-well potential with two separate blue minima split by a high-energy red barrier at 180 degrees."
Potential energy surfaces (PES) for HCCO − (left) and HNCN − (right), shown as 3D surfaces (top) and 2D contour maps (bottom). Plots show energy (blue = low, red = high) against bond displacement (ΔR) and bending angle (θ). HCCO − features a single stable minimum near a linear geometry (180 ∘ ). In contrast, HNCN − exhibits a double-well potential with two bent minima separated by an energy barrier at 180 ∘

Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026

About the Symposium

SoCalTheoChem was established in 2016 by Francesco Paesani and Joel Yuen at UC San Diego as a relaxed, roughly annual gathering of PIs, postrdocs, and students in theoretical and computational chemistry from across Southern California. For the 9th symposium, we are planning a full day (9am-5pm) of talks plus a poster session, to be held on Saturday, November 7 2026 on the campus of San Diego State University.

The program will include invited talks from SoCal-based PIs, a poster session (open to PIs, postdocs, grad and undergrad students), and talks selected from abstracts for the poster session. As always, registration, parking, coffee, and lunch will be provided at no cost to registered attendees.

Organizers

The location of SoCalTheoChem rotates among institutions in Southern California. San Diego State University is proud to host this 9th meeting on our campus. The members of the organizing committee are:

Sponsors

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the SDSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, chaired by Professor Tom Huxford.

Program

To allow registration to continue up until two weeks before the symposium, the final program will not be ready until roughly October 31.

Speakers

Poster Session

There will be a poster session following the lunch break. Slots will be reserved for oral presentations to be invited from the submitted poster abstracts. Instructions for the poster session will be forthcoming.

SoCalTheoChem 9
Registration

Registration deadline: October 24 2026. We will accept registrations after this deadline but on-time registration will help us meet demand for parking, lunch, and refreshments. If you will be presenting a poster, please have an abstract ready (3500 character maximum). You will also be asked if you would like your poster abstract considered for the oral session, if you will need parking, and if you have dietary restrictions. When you're ready, please fill in the registration form. If you have to modify or cancel your registration later, please e-mail us.

Location: San Diego State University

Event Locations

SoCalTheoChem 9 will be held in the Conrad Prebys Student Union at the southeast corner of the SDSU campus. The talks will be presented in the Union Theater and poster session will be held in the Templo Mayor conference room nearby. Free parking will be available in Lot TBD.

Directions

Trolley/Bus

For attendees already in the San Diego area, please consider taking the MTS Trolley. SDSU is a stop on the Green Line, and the trolley stop is adjacent to the Student Union where the symposium will be held. Travel time from the UCSD Central Campus stop on the Blue Line is about 45 minutes, including changing to the Green Line at Old Town.

If the trolley is not convenient, the transit center is also a terminus for the 11, 115, 856, 936, and Rapid 215 bus lines.

Driving and Parking

Parking passes will be available to attendees who request one during registration. You must pre-register your car to avoid being ticketed in the SDSU lots (even on Saturday). We will not be able to reimburse attendees for parking tickets, so please do follow the instructions when we send them. If you find you need a pass after registering, just e-mail us. Apologies for any inconvenience.

If you are driving, take the College Ave South exit from I-8. Please park either in Lot 1 (the parking structure at the southeast corner of College Ave. and Alvarado Rd.) or Lot 2 (the open air lot just beyond Lot 1).

If you park in Lot 1, we recommend parking on or just below the top level and taking the bridge from the top level across College Ave. to the SDSU campus. From Lot 2, take the bridge from the northeast corner of the lot over College Ave. to main campus. Once on campus, cross the campus ring road (Aztec Circle Dr.) and walk south towards the Student Union. We will set up a registration table in the Union courtyard.

View SDSU Campus Map

Categorized As
Sciences-Chemistry-Announcement