In the context of materials informatics, what is the purpose of a surrogate model?

Answer

To quickly approximate the true function relating inputs to properties based on a limited set of expensive simulation results.

A surrogate model is built when direct, high-fidelity simulation methods like DFT are too time-consuming. It acts as a fast statistical proxy to rapidly evaluate many candidates.

In the context of materials informatics, what is the purpose of a surrogate model?
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