EPFL Professor Ursula Rothlisberger has been named the 2026 recipient of the Michele Parrinello Award, an international distinction recognizing pioneering contributions to computational physical sciences.The Michele Parrinello Award from the MDPI Sustainability Foundation honors senior researchers whose work has fundamentally advanced computational physical sciences across chemistry, physics, and materials science. Established in recognition of the scientific legacy of Professor Michele Parrinello, the biennial award celebrates researchers whose discoveries have reshaped their fields through foundational and interdisciplinary contributions.The 2026 award has been presented to Ursula Rothlisberger, Professor in EPFL's School of Basic Sciences and head of the Laboratory of Computational Chemistry and Biochemistry. She is cited “for pioneering the development of ab initio molecular dynamics and QM/MM multiscale simulation methods, which have enabled predictive, molecular modelling of complex chemical and materials processes in chemistry, biology, and energy science.”Over the course of her career, Rothlisberger has helped establish computational chemistry as a key tool for understanding molecular mechanisms in chemical and biological systems. Her work combines quantum mechanics, molecular mechanics and dynamics to study systems that are difficult or impossible to probe experimentallyHer group develops advanced computational methods to explore enzyme catalysis, protein function, and molecular processes at the atomic scale, enabling increasingly predictive models with applications in catalysis, drug discovery and energy science.