Festschrift in honor of Christoph Dellago: Exploring Paths and Barriers in Statistical Mechanics

Christoph Dellago is one of the leading figures in the fields of statistical mechanics and molecular simulations, which he has contributed to shape with lasting contributions. After working as a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley and as an Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester, he joined the University of Vienna as a Professor of Computational Physics.

He played a central role in developing the Transition Path Sampling method, one of the most widespread methods for the study of rare events, including nucleation, chemical reactions, and conformational transitions. His work on the structure of the local molecular environment, known as the Lechner–Dellago order parameters, is now widely used to characterize local order in crystalline and amorphous phases. He has explored topics ranging from the role of van der Waals interactions in determining the properties of water to transport in nanopores, non-equilibrium fluctuations, cavitation, and the use of machine learning in molecular modeling. Christoph Dellago has been an active member of the international scientific community, serving as President of the CECAM Council and Director of the Erwin Schrödinger Institute of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Vienna. An inspiring mentor and collaborator, Christoph Dellago has built strong ties across the international simulation community.

This Festschrift, marking his 60th birthday, celebrates his influential body of work that continues to shape how we simulate and understand molecular systems.