Richard A. Friesner

Richard A. Friesner is the William P. Schweitzer Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University's Department of Chemistry. His research focuses on theoretical and computational chemistry, with emphasis on novel quantum mechanical/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods, molecular mechanics force fields, protein structure prediction, and computational models for enzyme catalysis and drug discovery.

Key projects include:

• Development of QM/MM methodologies for protein-active site modeling (e.g., methane monooxygenase, cytochrome P450)
• Automated polarizable force field construction for organic molecules and proteins
• Applications in drug discovery via predictive scoring and free-energy calculations
• High-resolution protein structure prediction (e.g., CASP4 contest participation)

His work bridges computational methods with biological and materials science problems, leveraging GPU computing and algorithm automation for efficiency. Recent publications highlight advancements in quantum Monte Carlo simulations and ligand-binding free energy calculations.

Dr. Friesner collaborates with interdisciplinary teams in pharmaceutical research, structural biology, and materials engineering, contributing to open-source software tools for computational chemistry.