About OVITO

OVITO is a scientific data visualization and analysis software for molecular and other particle-based simulation models, which are commonly used in computational materials science, engineering, physics, and chemistry. The software has been cited in over 14,000 research publications.

OVITO is a 3D graphics desktop application for Windows, Linux, and macOS. The software is developed, distributed, and supported by OVITO GmbH, a German software company founded by the original developer of OVITO, Dr. Alexander Stukowski, along with other team members. The OVITO ecosystem also includes the OVITO Python module, which is freely available as a standalone product.

The first public release of OVITO dates back to 2009, when the software emerged as a byproduct of a Ph.D. project at the Materials Science Department of Technische Universität Darmstadt. For many years, OVITO remained an academic open-source project, sustained by voluntary work of a single person. Despite its growing popularity, funding challenges posed a significant threat to OVITO’s long-term availability.

The pivotal step to secure OVITO’s future occurred in 2020: OVITO GmbH was founded. The company’s mission is to ensure the continued development, professional maintenance, and user support of the software through financial contributions (license fees) from its international user base.

For more information about OVITO, refer to this user manual or visit the official website, www.ovito.org.