Research in my group focuses on the dynamics of chemical reactions and in recent years the spectroscopy and collision dynamics of single nanoparticles. This has involved the development of coincidence spectroscopy, in particular the photoelectron-photofragment coincidence technique applied to negative ions that has allowed studies of elementary reactions providing a level of detail that benchmarks and guides the development of theoretical chemistry. Bringing the techniques of nuclear physics to bear on chemical problems has been the highlight of this approach, with the construction of apparatus to carry out unique measurements over the last 25 years. Now these same approaches are being applied in a novel single nanoparticle accelerator/decelerator, providing hitherto unavailable information on how nanoparticles scatter and interact with substrates. Applications of this apparatus range from industrial processes in the semiconductor industry to the development of instrumentation for missions to explore nearby planets and other astrophysical phenomena.
Awards and Achievements
- Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar ( 1996)
- Sloan Fellow ( 1997)
- Fellow of the American Physical Society ( 2000)