Ryan M. Richard
Role: Benevolent dictator for life of the Richard Group.
Brief Biography
I grew up around Cleveland, Ohio. As a kid I spent most of my time playing video games, which fueled my interest in technology, electronics, and software. When I started as an undergraduate at Cleveland State University I was initially a bio major, because I loved animals, but ended up quickly switching to chemistry on account of growing tired of memorizing taxonomy. During undergraduate research in my second year, I was exposed to computational chemistry. The fact that, in theory, all of chemistry could be predicted by solving one equation (the Schrodinger equation) was intoxicating and my career path was largely set. I was going to get computers to do chemistry for me.
For graduate school I attended The Ohio State University. It was at this point I began to really understand electronic structure theory and learned how to program. This was the second time I became intoxicated with an idea. As I began to understand computer software design, I realized coding in theoretical chemistry doesn’t have to be as hard as it is often portrayed. With some pre-emptive planning, it is possible to have user-friendly interfaces AND code that performs well.
My two postdocs, first at Georgia Tech, and then at Ames National Laboratory (then called Ames Laboratory), strengthened the skills I had acquired as a graduate student. My work on the NWChemEx project ultimately resulted in me becoming a staff scientist at Ames National Laboratory and an adjunct professor of chemistry at Iowa State University.
My Current Research
At the moment my main role is the chief architect and lead developer of NWChemEx. This takes up roughly 80% of my research time. The remaining 20% is focused on developing and applying GhostFragment.
Hobbies (i.e., the 20% of my day that’s not research or sleep)
My dogs. Repairing my house (particularly after my dogs destroy it). Video games. Working out.