Moloi, N.P.Ali, M.M.2007-08-162007-08-162003-03https://hdl.handle.net/11299/3869In this paper we propose an algorithm for the minimization of potential energy functions. The new algorithm is based on the differential evolution algorithm of Storn and Price [1]. The algorithm is tested on two different potential energy functions. The first function is the Lennard Jones energy function and the second function is the many-body potential energy function of Tersoff [2, 3]. The first problem is a pair potential and the second problem is a semi-empirical many-body potential energy function considered for silicon-silicon atomic interactions. The minimum binding energies of up to atoms are reported.