Bernardo de Souza
@bernadsz.bsky.social
Nature lover. Curious turned scientist. Part of the ORCA development team. Now bringing Quantum Theory and Molecular Physics to the real world at @faccts-orca.bsky.social https://scholar.google.com.br/citations?user=U6szjgMAAAAJ&hl=pt-BR
Skala, the machine-learned exchange-correlation functional from @msftresearch.bsky.social, is coming to #ORCA and will be part of the next release. Many thanks to the Microsoft team for their close support throughout the implementation. Stay tuned! www.faccts.de/orca #CompChem #ML #ChemSky #DFT
ORCA - FACCTs
faccts.de
What's you experience using ORCA with AI so far?
ORCA is ready for agentic science! With machine-readable JSON output, the ORCA Python Interface (OPI), and extensive docs/tutorials, ORCA combines powerful quantum chemistry with the programmatic control needed for automated workflows and AI agents. #ORCA #QuantumChem #AgenticAI #ChemSky #Python
ORCA? WEASEL? Dream Team! Discover how ORCA as a robust and efficient quantum chemistry engine and WEASEL can streamline your computational chemistry workflows: ORCA: www.faccts.de/orca WEASEL: www.faccts.de/weasel #QuantumChem #CompChemistry #ChemSky #ChemistrySoftware
It was a great pleasure to visit our #QUICHE partners at Quantum Motion and @riverlane.com and gain first-hand insights into their cutting-edge #QuantumComputing technology. Thank you for the inspiring exchange - let’s keep shaping the future together! #QuantumChemistry #ORCA
We are pleased to support the @keystonesymposia.bsky.social meeting on Computational Advances in Drug Discovery. Join our team and learn more about our CADD toolkit. We look forward to seeing you there. #FACCTs #KSDrugDiscovery26 #CADD #CompChem #QuantumChem #DrugDiscovery #ORCA #WEASEL
Analytical #Raman intensities are one of the notable new features of #ORCA 6.1 (MPI Kofo & FACCTs). Check the implementation paper by Frank Neese and Petra Pikulová. doi.org/10.1063/5.03... Manual on Raman simulations: www.faccts.de/docs/orca/6.... #Spectroscopy #CompChem #QuantumChem
Efficient implementation of analytical Raman intensities
In this study, we report an analytical derivative implementation of static polarizability gradients, needed for the prediction of Raman spectra, in the ORCA pro
doi.org
If you want to combine ORCA+Python seamlessly, the OPI (ORCA Python Interface) is the way to go. The paper is out and is free of access for 6 months - it was accepted as the Editor's choice in JCCT. The interface is open-source and ready to get new contributions. 🐍
Our paper on the #ORCA #Python Interface OPI is published in #JCTC! pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.... Check it out and join the OPI community. OPI on GitHub: github.com/faccts/opi OPI documentation: www.faccts.de/docs/opi/docs #FACCTs #OPI #CompChem #QuantumChem #ScientificSoftware #OpenSource
Visit our team at the Analytica in Munich to learn more about our latest software solutions. We’re looking forward to connecting and exchanging with you. Hall A3, Booth 503-1 #FACCTs #analytica2026 #CompChem #QuantumChem #Workflows #Automation #AI #AnalyticChem #ORCA #WEASEL #TOUCAN
On March 24, #analytica 2026 kicks off in Munich — and we’re excited to be part of it. Experience #WEASEL, #ORCA, and more live and discover how our solutions elevate your processes to a new level of efficiency. We look forward to seeing you there #FACCTs #QuantumChem #Workflows #AnalyticalChem
With our latest #WEASEL release, it is time to introduce another workflow: the fully automated calculation of rotational barriers for arbitrary molecules, enabling the reliable identification and classification of #atropisomers. www.faccts.de/weasel/ #FACCTs #Workflows #QuantumChem #CompChem #CADD
Check out the new Jupyter notebook on the calculation of redox potentials with #ORCA and #OPI by #FACCTs Computational Scientist Hagen Neugebauer: www.faccts.de/docs/opi/nig... OPI Docs: www.faccts.de/docs/opi/docs/ OPI GitHub: github.com/faccts/opi #ORCAqc #ORCAPI #CompChem #Python #ChemSky
ORCA has now 100k registered users! We are very proud to be part of the project, and all the impact it has across chemistry/physics/molecular sciences. It's really an enormous privilege to be able to help so many people execute their best ideas through our tools/theories/algorithms 🙏.
What an incredible Christmas gift! The #ORCA community has reached a major milestone: 100,000 registered users. Thank you all for your trust and for being such an important part of ORCA’s journey. Your support is what makes this success possible. #ORCAqc #FACCTs #MPIKOFO #CompChem #ChemSky
Use Fukui functions to estimate molecular reactivity and pinpoint reactive sites. With #WEASEL, you can visualize them and get all associated indices easily using just one command! Learn more about WEASEL www.faccts.de/weasel #FACCTs #CompChem #QuantumChem #Fukui #Reactivity #WorkflowAutomation
Most people know us for our contributions to ORCA — but have you heard of WEASEL? WEASEL is our smart workflow driver that delivers efficient workflows for complex quantum chemical processes. Learn more about WEASEL at www.faccts.de/weasel youtu.be/stYgkMZwi5s #WEASEL #FACCTs #CompChem #ChemSky
WEASEL
YouTube video by FACCTs
youtu.be
Running bad DFT calculations very fast is easy, and it's also useless. That's why we put a lot of effort in the last few years in making ORCA faster, while at the same time *increasing* the accuracy. 1/3 arxiv.org/abs/2510.197...
How Accurate Are DFT Forces? Unexpectedly Large Uncertainties in Molecular Datasets
Training of general-purpose machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs) relies on large datasets with properties usually computed with density functional theory (DFT). A pre-requisite for accurate...
arxiv.org
It's 10-23 day! So we decided to make a new release: - AutoOptimize Tool 🎉 - New charts and spectra - Easier geometry constraints, including for ORCA input - Plenty of bug fixes and tweaks discuss.avogadro.cc/t/avogadro-1...
Great to see many of our collaborators and friends from the ORCA community including Michael Römelt, Dimitrios Pantazis, @podewitzlab.bsky.social, @letigonzalez.bsky.social, @kulikgroup.bsky.social, and many more at the QBIC VII in Berlin, Germany! #QBICVII #CompChemSky #ChemSky #ORCAqc #ORCA
Create input and parse output of ORCA with the new ORCA Python Interface (OPI), an open source project supported by FACCTs. Check it out and become part of the OPI community! GitHub: github.com/faccts/opi Docs: www.faccts.de/docs/opi/1.0... #ORCAqc #Python #FACCTs #CompChem #QuantumChem
GitHub - faccts/opi: ORCA Python Interface
ORCA Python Interface. Contribute to faccts/opi development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
Hot off the press: “A Two-Level Preconditioner for the CASSCF Linear-Response Equations” by our scientific advisor Benjamin Helmich-Paris (@orca-qc-official.bsky.social). Its already part of ORCA 6.1, check it out! doi.org/10.1021/acs.... #ORCA #ORCAqc #CompChem #QuantumChem #TheoChem #CASSCF
A Two-Level Preconditioner for the CASSCF Linear-Response Equations
We present an efficient two-level strategy to accelerate the solution of the CASSCF linear-response eigenvalue problem using a customized Davidson algorithm. By identifying a subset of important response-vector components─the so-called P space─we compute and diagonalize full Hessian and metric matrix elements while treating the remaining Q-space components with a diagonal approximation. This approach decouples the orbital and configuration responses, enabling independent preconditioning of each component. Computational cost is further reduced through the resolution-of-the-identity approximation. We demonstrate significant performance gains across a diverse set of molecules, achieving speedups of up to 2.05 compared to the standard diagonal preconditioning. The largest efficiency gains are observed for MCTDA calculations involving many excited states and relatively small response-vector lengths. The two-level strategy is available in ORCA 6.1 and paves the way for extensions to dynamic polarizabilities, which require solving large-scale linear equations, as well as to time-dependent density functional theory and CI singles.
doi.org
Check out the recent paper by List, Neese et al. that ones more demonstrates the synergy of experiment and quantum chemistry powered by ORCA (DFT, GOAT, ...) @faccts.de @orca-qc-official.bsky.social doi.org/10.1021/jacs... ORCA: www.faccts.de/orca/ #ORCAqc #ORCA #Catalysis #CompChem #QuantumChem
Pericyclic Umpolung in a Catalytic Asymmetric Diels–Alder Reaction of Tropone with Enol Ethers
One remarkable feature of catalysis in chemical synthesis is its capacity to override substrate-imposed reactivity and selectivity. The inversion of normal reaction patterns, commonly known as Umpolun...
doi.org
Update on the last post about two similar structures differing by ~ 33 kcal/mol. We split intro three fragments and saturated with Hs to check the contribution per fragment. The large total energy difference is explained trivially from a sum of the frag. contribution. 1/3 #compchem