Education
BS - Chemistry, The Ohio State University
PhD - Chemistry, The Ohio State University
PhD - Chemistry, The Ohio State University
Kevin (Kay) Carter Fenk
University of Pittsburgh
Chemistry
Profile
Kay Carter-Fenk received their BS and PhD from The Ohio State University where their dissertation on quantum chemistry methods development was supervised by Prof. John M. Herbert. Kay went on to a postdoc at University of California, Berkeley where they worked under Prof. Martin Head-Gordon on quantum chemistry methods for X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Since starting their independent career at University of Pittsburgh in August 2024, Kay's group has developed novel (unitary) coupled cluster methods and density functional theory approaches with improved robustness in strongly-correlated systems.
Research
The Carter-Fenk group develops affordable quantum chemistry methods for strongly-correlated systems with abundant applications in sustainable energy sciences, quantum sensing, and quantum computing. Minimalist models for accurately predicting the excited states of strongly-correlated systems and their extensions to spin-dynamics simulations are of particular interest in the Carter-Fenk group. They have developed linear, unitary approximations to coupled-cluster theory that are particularly robust in strongly correlated systems and has shown that extensions of such approaches to excited states yields better predictions of excitation spectra. The Carter-Fenk group is especially interested in applications of their novel methods to inform the design of quantum sensors and the understanding of excitation-induced magnetism in biology and materials.
Most Cited Publications
K. Carter-Fenk. Diagrammatic Simplification of Linearized Coupled Cluster Theory J. Phys. Chem. A 129, 7251-7260 (2025)
A. Y. Zamani and K. Carter-Fenk. Toward ab initio Realizations of Collins' Conjecture J. Chem. Phys. 163, 034103 (2025)
S. J. Bintrim and K. Carter-Fenk. Optimal-Reference Excited State Methods: Static Correlation at Polynomial Cost with Single-Reference Coupled-Cluster Approaches J. Chem. Theory Comput. 21, 4080-4094 (2025)
Recent Publications
K. Carter-Fenk. Diagrammatic Simplification of Linearized Coupled Cluster Theory J. Phys. Chem. A 129, 7251-7260 (2025)
A. Y. Zamani and K. Carter-Fenk. Toward ab initio Realizations of Collins' Conjecture J. Chem. Phys. 163, 034103 (2025)
S. J. Bintrim and K. Carter-Fenk. Optimal-Reference Excited State Methods: Static Correlation at Polynomial Cost with Single-Reference Coupled-Cluster Approaches J. Chem. Theory Comput. 21, 4080-4094 (2025)