Giuseppe Barca
Professor of Quantum Medicinal Chemistry, Monash University
Prof. Giuseppe M. J. Barca is a leading expert in high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), and digital chemistry, recognized for pioneering scalable algorithms that have redefined the limits of molecular modelling and in silico drug discovery. His research integrates HPC, AI, and quantum chemistry to accelerate chemical R&D, enabling predictive simulations with accuracy close to physical experiments.
From 2018 to 2023, Barca led Australia’s only contribution to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Exascale Computing Project, collaborating with Georgia Tech, Argonne, Oak Ridge, and Ames National Laboratories as well as NVIDIA, Intel, AMD, and Cray. Between 2020 and 2024, his team set four world records in quantum chemical modelling, culminating in the 2024 ACM Gordon Bell Prize for enabling the first quantum-accurate simulations of biomolecular systems and the first-ever exaflop-scale computation in double precision. In 2025, he received the WATOC Dirac Medal, the highest international recognition in theoretical and computational chemistry for researchers under 40.
In 2023, Barca co-founded QDX Technologies, a deep-tech company with operations in Singapore, Melbourne, and Canberra, where he serves as Head of Research. Alongside this role, he leads academic teams at the Australian National University, focusing on high-performance computing, and at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, advancing AI- and quantum-driven drug discovery.