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Geoff Hutchison

@geoffhutchison.net
3K followers 1.2K following 723 posts

Chemist, Scientist, Husband, Dad, Runner, Teacher. I develop Avogadro + OpenBabel to find new materials for energy applications @Pitt_Chemistry he/him

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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 5h
Bonus - they don't even have private rocket ships.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 05/10/2026
Dear #chemsky - I remember lots of chat about digital accessibility of course materials. I don't remember conclusions about chemical structures / reaction schemes. Are there good "best practices" guides out there for the chemistry aspects?
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 03/10/2026
Looks great. Glad to see the comparison and the success rate. A grad student @pittchemistry.bsky.social worked this up to help with teaching (based on openclatura): name.pengliugroup.com
name.pengliugroup.com
Skeleton Key
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 03/10/2026
For years, this has been a missing gap for #opensource chemistry. And now, there are three, including nipso and openclatura. Hope you’ll compare yours with the other two. Particularly curious about fused rings and heterocyclic compounds which have some tricky rules.
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Reposted by Geoff Hutchison
Christine Dell'Amore @cdellamore.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
C&EN is hiring a senior editor to lead strategic content distribution and publishing partnerships, based in Columbus, Ohio, or D.C. The schedule is hybrid, with two days a week in the office. Please share with your journalism networks! www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/44...
linkedin.com
Senior Editor, Content Partnerships- C&EN at American Chemical Society — Washington, DC | LinkedIn Jobs
Apply for Senior Editor, Content Partnerships- C&EN at American Chemical Society in Washington, DC. Full-time Mid-Senior level role. See responsibilities, qualifications, and similar jobs on Linke...
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 01/10/2026
Next, we'll figure out how to get "beatified" SMILES strings.
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Reposted by Geoff Hutchison
Avogadro Project @avogadro.cc · 01/10/2026
What's this? Avogadro2 in a web browser?! #compchem #opensource #prototype
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 30/09/2026
Some great new #compchem results from my next-door neighbors in the Carter-Fenk group.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 24/09/2026
Hopefully he has some influence about that - and the budget actually gets out to researchers.
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Reposted by Geoff Hutchison
100 years ago news @100yearsagonews.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Sept. 21, 1926: The University of Pittsburgh gives final approval to the Cathedral of Learning, a Gothic skyscraper that will anchor the campus and become the tallest college building in the world. Groundbreaking is to start next month. Designed as 29 stories, it will grow to 42 when opened in 1937.
A poster to promote a fund-raising drive for the “Cathedral”The lot where the Cathedral of Learning will be built, in September 1926Pittsburgh Gazette Times
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 16/09/2026
I was shocked after moving to Pittsburgh and learning there were 130 municipalities in Allegheny County, for like 1.2M people.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 13/09/2026
I usually use that question in my undergrad quantum class. But I use someone batting for the Pirates.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 13/09/2026
"Which gets to something fundamental about A.I. coding, and A.I. in general: It’s very good at reproducing things that look and feel like what came before." … "Craft makes money, and A.I. tends to wreck your sense of craft."
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 11/09/2026
On the walk to my office today, #Pittsburgh Soldiers and Sailors Memorial has a tribute with 7,087 dog tags representing the service members lost in the "War on Terror" after September 11, 2001.
Photo of Soldiers and Sailor's Memorial Hall in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, in the middle of Pitt's campus. Hanging across the walkway are 7,087 dog tags representing the lives lost since September 11, 2001 in the conflicts in the War on Terror
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Reposted by Geoff Hutchison
Avogadro Project @avogadro.cc · 11/09/2026
We've been working on an internal-coordinate / z-matrix editor. How should we name it? #compchem (Keep in mind we need to translate into multiple languages) 1️⃣ Z-Matrix Editor 2️⃣ Internal Coordinate Editor 📊 Show results
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 09/09/2026
Congrats to @kaybrummond.bsky.social #chemsky
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 09/09/2026
Yeah, my comment is more that I really like modern chemical safety - I'm not sure I'd want even a trained PhD running rxns next door to me. And I'm also alarmed at the rise of "I have this new treatment" - like running tox screens and stuff is important.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 09/09/2026
"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." - Dr. Ian Malcolm, *Jurassic Park*
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 09/09/2026
I was on a review panel with some academic AI researchers (i.e., not chemists). They asked an important question. "How much do we *want* to 'democratize chemical synthesis'? Aren't there some molecules we don't want people to make?"
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 04/09/2026
Not to mention the most intense downpour I’ve ever witnessed this evening.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 02/09/2026
Congrats!
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Reposted by Geoff Hutchison
Magnetic Resonance News @nmr900.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Angela M. Gronenborn (University of Pittsburgh) to receive the 2027 Nakanishi Prize @acs.org to recognize her significant work that extends chemical and spectroscopic methods to the study of important biological phenomena cen.acs.org/acs-news/acs... #NMRchat 🧲
cen.acs.org
ACS names 2027 National Award winners
The winners are being acknowledged for their outstanding achievements in chemistry across various fields in the discipline
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 30/08/2026
Wait - why do data centers suddenly need PFAS and photoacid generators? I can understand why some chip makers might need these, but in a bunch of data centers all of the country? (sigh)
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 29/08/2026
Thanks to everyone who gave us their thoughts - looking forward to building even better tools to come. And while it was anonymous - if you've got ideas or hit crashes and unreadable files? Please come talk to us on the forum: discuss.avogadro.cc
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 29/08/2026
Finally for #compchem folks. I'll post more soon, but if you have a Python tool or script - you can turn it into a plugin in like 10-15 minutes. We already have 30 plugins from RDKit and xtb to cclib, Psi4 and pymatgen - builders and ML potentials and analysis tools... Hopefully more soon
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 29/08/2026
Several complaints and feature requests were for things that already exist in 2.0. So we'll work on improving documentation and tutorials. Several noted 🪲 - please report them, e.g. discuss.avogadro.cc In particular, if you have issues reading files, please let us know and give us an example.
discuss.avogadro.cc
Avogadro Discussion
Discussion about the Avogadro molecular editor
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 29/08/2026
Ratings of Avogadro v2 improve the more people use it - probably because the final 2.0 release was *better* than earlier betas. If you've had problems, try a continuous nightly build: avogadro.cc/install
A table indicating ratings of Avogadro v2 - regular users, a few times, maybe once or twice. For "regular" users n = 32 responses, speed is 4.0 out of 5, Ease of Use is 3.85 out of 5, and Stability is 3.81 out of 5. For "a few times" users n = 10, speed is 4.0 out of 5, ease of use is 3.4 out of 5, and stability is 3.5 out of 5.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 29/08/2026
Most respondents focused on research use, but 11 indicated using Avogadro for chemical education / teaching. Since the fall semester is starting, we'll follow up to understand how we can help more in the classroom (e.g., sharing more materials, better tutorials). If you have ideas - let us know!
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 29/08/2026
A few weeks ago, I posted for the 2026 Avogadro Community Feedback Survey. Over 50 people responded, and several wrote multi-paragraph responses! I posted a summary to the forum and I want to include a few notes for #compchem discuss.avogadro.cc/t/avogadro-2...
discuss.avogadro.cc
Avogadro 2026 Survey Results
A few weeks ago, I posted the 2026 Community Feedback Survey - and I’d like to start doing this annually. Thank you to the 49 50 of you who filled out the development survey. Several people wrote…
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 25/08/2026
My kids got books from Dolly. As they were growing up, they couldn't quite understand that someone was just *giving* them books they could keep.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 23/08/2026
I tell my students about the Optimism Bias. Heck, I even tell my kids when they (as teenagers) propose overly optimistic projects. So. Tomorrow is the start of the semester. Why am I surprised that I didn't get everything I wanted accomplished over the summer? #academicsky
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 21/08/2026
#chemjobs
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Reposted by Geoff Hutchison
Prashant Kamat @kamat.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
ACS names 2026 fellows cen.acs.org/acs-news/acs...
cen.acs.org
ACS names 2026 fellows
59 new fellows are honored for their contributions to science and the society
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 19/08/2026
Yeah, totally worth it.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 19/08/2026
What kind of PhD - you should be able to get fellowships, support for most PhD programs. Certainly should pay for itself though.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 19/08/2026
I liked this analogy - because the point of homework is definitely "gym" work. I think the question might be whether LLM use can be useful as a "trainer" (e.g., Socratic questioning or generating example study questions) or if it's just a slippery slope. danielmiessler.com/blog/keep-th...
danielmiessler.com
Keep the Robots Out of the Gym
We have to be very careful about what we ask AI to help us with
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 17/08/2026
Even in relatively cloudy Pittsburgh, if a solar project has a 10-year payoff time, that's a guaranteed 10% annual return. Plus a balance against the increasing cost of electricity (e.g., from data centers) So the question for institutions - will you be around in 10 years? If so, why not solar
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 17/08/2026
Seriously? A T-Rex eating a book? Reminds me of that post-9-11 logo with the eye scanning the entire world.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 13/08/2026
What if someone has a chemistry paper on sandwich compounds?
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Reposted by Geoff Hutchison
Avogadro Project @avogadro.cc · 08/08/2026
Do you use Avogadro? We'd like some feedback: No personal information is required - just a few minutes #compchem #chemsky forms.gle/FqNo8xe9KMPH...
forms.gle
Avogadro Community Feedback
Now that we've released Avogadro 2.0, we'd like to gain feedback and information on the user community -- how it's used, what you use it for, and how you heard about it to guide future development. T...
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 09/08/2026
This guy is basically trolling, but I thought several sports already had guidelines - like you had to be on hormones for at least a year or two? That said. Would love to see him try to play 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 against A'ja and some WNBA players.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 07/08/2026
I've been on review panels. Can you imagine what the NIH and NSF could do with another $1.5B right now? There's so much good science that's going unfunded.
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Reposted by Geoff Hutchison
Avogadro Project @avogadro.cc · 06/08/2026
Avogadro now has over 25 Python plugins for: - input generation for common programs - partial charges and electrostatics - reading and writing file formats through cclib - forcefields and ML potentials - building and analysis commands What are some tools you'd like to see? #compchem
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 06/08/2026
Welcome to Pitt! Since we have hummingbirds visit our backyard every summer, I’m excited to learn more.
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 04/08/2026
I really like Daniel Miessler's original post that was cited. "Keep the Robots Out of the Gym" danielmiessler.com/blog/keep-th...
danielmiessler.com
Keep the Robots Out of the Gym
We have to be very careful about what we ask AI to help us with
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 24/07/2026
I'm mystified by this. Do people think "made of amino acids" and "similar to protein" = safe? Do we need to just spread more about toxicity? Lots of deadly peptides in the world (mushrooms spring to mind) Or is that going to feed into the disinfo behind these?
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 23/07/2026
Sure!
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 23/07/2026
For what it's worth, I have a big pile of polymer repeat units here (in regular SMILES) - which reminds me to turn the previews back into SVG: github.com/OpenChemistr...
github.com
fragments/polymers at main · OpenChemistry/fragments
Molecular fragments and inorganic ligands for rapidly building structures - OpenChemistry/fragments
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Geoff Hutchison @geoffhutchison.net · 22/07/2026
Starzl's name is, not surprisingly, all over Pitt's campus including the organ transplant center. There's a statue of him on a bench near the Cathedral of Learning sponsored by his wife: www.utimes.pitt.edu/news/starzl-...
utimes.pitt.edu
Starzl Statue at Home Outside of Cathedral of Learning
A statue of renowned transplant surgeon Dr. Thomas Starzl was unveiled in June outside of the Cathedral of Learning.
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Reposted by Geoff Hutchison
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 18/07/2026
Yesterday the US Administration supercharged its explicit effort to bar international students from staying in the US after graduation. All Americans should know: 1/3 of *all* STEM PhDs working in the US are immigrants who graduated from US universities, then stayed. www.piie.com/index%2Ephp/...
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