NAMD, recipient of a 2002 Gordon Bell Award, a 2012 Sidney Fernbach Award, and a 2020 Gordon Bell Prize, 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 500,000 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.

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Everything that living things do can be understood in terms of jigglings and wigglings of atoms. Richard Feynman's remark in the early 1960's summarizes what is today widely accepted, namely, that molecular processes can be described by the dynamics of biological molecules, therefore connecting protein dynamics to biological function. Molecular dynamics (MD) is by far the best tool to investigate jigglings and wigglings of biological systems. Advances in both software and hardware have spread the use of MD, however the steepness of the learning curve of the methodology of MD remains high. To assist new users in overcoming the initial barrier to use MD software, and to help the more advanced users to speed up tedious steps, we have developed the QwikMD software, as decribed in a recent paper. By incorporating an easy-to-use point-and-click user interface that connects the widely used molecular graphics program VMD with the powerful MD program NAMD, QwikMD allows its users to prepare both basic and advanced MD simulations in just a few minutes. At the same time, QwikMD keeps track of every step performed during the preparation of the simulation, allowing easy reproducibility and shareability of protocols. More information about QwikMD, as well as introductory tutorials are available on our QwikMD webpage. QwikMD is available in VMD 1.9.3 or later versions.

Overview

Why NAMD? (in pictures)
How to Cite NAMD
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 - Git access now available
Run at NCSA, SDSC, NICS, or Texas

Training

NAMD Developer Workshop in Urbana (August 19-20, 2019)
PRACE School on HPC for Life Sciences (June 10-13, 2019)
"Hands-On" Workshop in Pittsburgh (May 13-17, 2019)
Charm++ Workshop in Urbana (May 1-2, 2019)
Enhanced Sampling and Free-Energy Workshop (Sept 10-14, 2018)
NAMD Developer Workshop in Urbana (June 11-12, 2018)
"Hands-On" Workshop in Pittsburgh (May 21-25, 2018)
"Hands-On" QM/MM Simulation Workshop (April 5-7, 2018)
Older "Hands-On" Workshops

Support

Announcements

Documentation

Related Codes, Scripts, and Examples
NAMD Wiki (Recent Changes)
Older Documentation

News

AMBER force field use in NAMD for large scale simulation
NAMD GPU-resident benchmarks available
NAMD and VMD share in COVID-19 Gordon Bell Special Prize
NAMD reference paper published online
Coronavirus Simulations by U. Delaware Team
Coronavirus Simulations on Frontera Supercomputer
Breakthrough Flu Simulations
Oak Ridge Exascale Readiness Program
Prepping for Next-Generation Cray at NERSC
Supercomputing HIV-1 Replication
How GPUs help in the fight against staph infections
Computational Microscope Gets Subatomic Resolution
Opening New Frontiers in the Battle Against HIV/AIDS
HIV Capsid Interacting with Environment
Assembling Life's Molecular Motor
Older News Items