Dec 2, 2018
Overview
Molecular Graphics (MG) unites computer graphics and software engineering and is widely used in scientific and commercial research. Recently, rapid developments are exploring the use of MG within web browsers, opening exciting new possibilities, such as large-scale collaboration. At the same time, advances in experimental methods now make available molecular structures of unprecedented size and complexity, giving new insights into the molecular machinery of life, but also requiring much increased computational performance, and sometimes the use of new display technologies. In response, the first Shonan seminar on Web-based Molecular Graphics was held in 2016, bringing together, for the first time ever, key international players in this newly emerging field. This meeting had a major impact in our field: we also settled on four topic areas as highest priority for the next steps in our nascent community: (1) Standards (de facto and emerging); (2) Big molecular data; (3) Emerging technologies (e.g., VR/AR, WebVR, HMDs); and (4) Community building. This will be our second meeting to explore these topic areas, with a group of experts spanning computer science, molecular graphics, and bioinformatics.