Chemistry

Faculty & Staff

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Education:

• B.A. cum laude in Chemistry with Departmental Distinction, St. Olaf College, May 1983.  Undergraduate research project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, "High Temperature Synthesis and Laser Raman Characterization of Mixed Sodium-Lanthanide Phosphates." Research supervisor, Dr. Carlos E. Bamberger.

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of Arizona, December 1987.  Specialization in Physical Chemistry and Molecular Spectroscopy.  Research supervisor, Professor Peter F. Bernath.  Thesis title, "Laser and Fourier Transform Spectroscopy of Gas Phase Molecules."

• Post-Doctoral Fellowship, 1/88 - 10/88:  under Professor Peter F. Bernath, Department of Chemistry, University of Arizona.

• Post-Doctoral Staff Fellow, 6/89 - 8/90:  U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Division of Drug Analysis.

• Initial Academic Appointment: Spring 1990 Department of Chemistry, SIUE.

Research Interest:

    Recent research activities have focused on the high-resolution spectroscopy of small gas phase molecules, with particular emphasis on metal-containing radicals, such as AuO, PtF, NiH.  Our experiments are based on intracavity laser absorption spectroscopy, performed in collaboration with Prof. James J. O’Brien at the University of Missouri – St. Louis.  We have special interest in recording rotationally-resolved molecular electronic transitions, which can provide many fundamental molecular constants for diatomic metal-hydride, metal-oxide and metal-nitride molecules.  The significance of the research is based on the interpretation of the obtained molecular constants, especially as they relate to chemical bonding and molecular reactivities.

Teaching Interest:

My teaching assignments usually include Physical Chemistry (Chem 361a/b), Physical Chemistry Laboratory (Chem 365a/b), and Advanced Physical Chemistry (Chem 561).  Course materials can generally be found on SIUE’s Blackboard webpages.