NAMD, recipient of a 2002 Gordon Bell Award and a 2012 Sidney Fernbach Award, is a parallel molecular dynamics code designed for high-performance simulation of large biomolecular systems. Based on Charm++ parallel objects, NAMD scales to hundreds of cores for typical simulations and beyond 200,000 cores for the largest simulations. NAMD uses the popular molecular graphics program VMD for simulation setup and trajectory analysis, but is also file-compatible with AMBER, CHARMM, and X-PLOR. NAMD is distributed free of charge with source code. You can build NAMD yourself or download binaries for a wide variety of platforms. Our tutorials show you how to use NAMD and VMD for biomolecular modeling.
The 2005 reference paper
Scalable molecular dynamics with NAMD has over 4000 citations as of September 2014.
Wit, grit and a supercomputer yield chemical structure of HIV capsid (article referring to NAMD simulations on Blue Waters reported in Zhao et al., Nature, 497:643-646, 2013.)
Rapid parameterization of small molecules using the force field toolkit, JCC, 2013.
HPCwire Editors' Choice Award: Best use of HPC in life sciences
Spotlight: NAMD 2.7 Extends Free Energy Capability (Dec 2010)
image size:
994.9KB
made with VMD
The eagerly awaited 2.7 release of NAMD includes GPU acceleration, downloadable binaries for Linux clusters with InfiniBand networks, grid-based forces and extra bond/angle/torsion conformational restraints for molecular dynamics flexible fitting (MDFF), and a major enhancement of both alchemical and conformational free energy methods. Alchemical calculations gradually alter the chemical structure of a molecule during a simulation, monitoring the consequences of creating and deleting atoms via either free energy perturbation or thermodynamic integration. A soft-core correction may be employed to circumvent singularities when atoms are created. Conformational calculations can probe structural rearrangements along an arbitrary number of collective variables, including distances between atoms or groups of atoms, distances projected along an axis or in a plane, angles, torsions, eigenvectors, gyration radii, coordination, root mean-square displacements, orientations, and alpha-helicity. New variables can be introduced without recompilation. Free energy surfaces or potentials of mean force can be constructed using metadynamics, the adaptive biasing force method, umbrella sampling, and steered molecular dynamics. The collective variables capability of NAMD has allowed the simulation of the illustrated hexameric helicase. In the simulation, a single strand of DNA passes through the central core while the hexamer translocates or "walks" along the DNA, a mechanical process driven by the energy of ATP hydrolysis.
Overview
Having Problems with NAMD?
Why NAMD? (in pictures)
Molecular Dynamics Flexible Fitting
Steered Molecular Dynamics
Interactive Molecular Dynamics
Features and Capabilities
Performance Benchmarks
Publications and
Citations
Credits and Development Team
Availability
Read the License
Download NAMD Binaries
(also VMD)
Build from Source Code
Run at NCSA, SDSC, NICS, or Texas
Training
"Hands-On" Workshop in Atlanta (Nov 3-7, 2014)
Apply by October 19.
"Hands-On" Workshop in Bremen (June 16-20, 2014)
Charm++ Workshop in Urbana (April 29-30, 2014)
Cryo-EM Modeling Workshop in Urbana (Jan 8-10, 2014)
"Hands-On" Workshop in Urbana (Nov 18-22, 2013)
GPU Programming Workshop in Urbana (Aug 2-4, 2013)
"Hands-On" Workshop in Pittsburgh (June 10-14, 2013)
Charm++ Workshop in Urbana (April 15-16, 2013)
"Hands-On" Workshop in Urbana (Oct 22-26, 2012)
In-Residence Training in Urbana (July 16-27, 2012)
Charm++ Workshop in Urbana (May 7-9, 2012)
Membrane Protein Modeling Workshop in Chicago (May 1-2, 2012)
"Hands-On" Workshop in Urbana (Feb 11-15, 2012)
"Hands-On" Computational Biophysics Workshops
Older Workshops
Support
Mailing List Issues for Yahoo.com Addresses
Announcements
NAMD 2.10 New Features
NAMD 2.10b1 (Aug 2014)
NAMD 2.9 New Features
NAMD 2.9 (April 2012)
2011 User Survey Report
NAMD 2.8 New Features
NAMD 2.8 (May 2011)
NAMD 2.7 New Features
NAMD 2.7 (Oct 2010)
How to Cite NAMD
Previous Announcements
Documentation
Adaptive Biasing Force Website
Interactive Molecular Dynamics Tutorial
Related Codes, Scripts, and Examples
NAMD Wiki (Recent Changes)
Older Documentation
News
Big Ten Network "Computing a Virus" Feature
NAMD Paper Has 4000 Citations
Bolstering Extreme Scale Computational Biology
CUDA Achievment Award for Fighting HIV
Team learns how membrane transporter moves
Charm++-Related Events at SC13
Extreme Computational Biology at SC13
Editors' Choice: Best use of HPC in life sciences
Rapid parameterization of small molecules
NAMD Paper Has 3000 Citations
Code cracks HIV capsid, opens drug possibilities
HIV-1 Capsid Structure Determined
Poliovirus Simulated on BlueGene/Q
Virus Structure Determined with Blue Waters
Fashioning NAMD: A History of Risk and Reward
Kale, Schulten Receive Fernback Award
Making History on Blue Waters
Hello Siri, Please Start My Experiment Now
Blue Waters Early Science System
Proteins Help DNA Replicate Past Damage
SC11: Scaling to 100 Million Atoms
Copper Folds Parkinson's Plaques
Mechanics of Membrane Proteins
Molecular Mystery of Blood Clotting
Alzheimer's Misfolding Simulated
When Cellular Bones Soften
Getting the Rabbit in the Hat
Insights Into Deafness
Molecular Machines Replicate and Repair DNA
Sound Science
Blueprint for the Affordable Genome
Mechanics of Hearing and Deafness
NAMD Paper Has 1000 Citations
Closing the Gaps
Inside the Swine Flu Virus
GPU Acceleration in Development
NCSA IACAT to Accelerate NAMD
Parkinson's, Alzheimer's Diseases
Knock, Knock, Who's There?
Step Up to the BAR Domain
Older News Items



