Van der Waals interactions in advanced materials, in memory of David C Langreth

Review article, 2012

The Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter special issue is dedicated to the memory of David C Langreth and his contribution to research in the field of Van der Waals (vdW) interactions in advanced materials. David C Langreth was an outstanding condensed matter theorist and a scholar who significantly influenced researchers through his particle-physics based insights into density functional theory (DFT), surface science, and related areas. His seminal works ranged from conserving formulations of interacting nonequilibrium transport and formal-scattering theory to an explicit formulation the exact DFT exchange-correlation energy in the adiabatic connection formula (ACF). David C Langreth's another significant contribution was in the area of vdW interactions in materials, as he played a key role in developing and formulating the vdW density functional (vdW-DF) method.