RESEARCH
I have extensive research experience in the fields of physical and analytical chemistry,
chemical physics, atmospheric environmental science and the design of instruments for chemical analysis. At present, I divide my research effort between laboratories in the Chemistry Department at Connecticut College (CC) and laboratories at Aerodyne Research, Inc. (ARI), in Billerica, MA, a suburb of Boston.
Chemistry laboratories at Connecticut College are home to my research into the rates and mechanisms of chemical reactions -- how fast molecules react and by what sequences of individual steps.
Students
who participate in this research are part of an ongoing effort in many laboratories throughout the world
to understand how molecules acquire energy and react, the fundamental processes underlying all of chemistry. Student researchers heat molecules to extremely high temperatures
with shock waves and use a variety of analytical instruments, both commercial and custom-designed,
to identify the products of the reactions and determine how fast these products were produced.
Many undergraduate students from CC and other colleges participate in this work, both during
summers and the academic year, and they frequently present the results of their research at
professional meetings and appear as co-authors of research articles in professional journals.
Other scientists at Hollins and Syracuse Universities and at NASA’s Goddard Space
Flight Center have been extensively involved in this work as research collaborators
and co-directors of student projects.
At Aerodyne Research, Inc., where I am an Affiliated Scientist, I build on my long-standing
interest in the atmosphere and environmental studies. I am currently a member of two ARI research
groups, and I also contribute to the work of other groups whose missions are related.
In the Center for Aerosol and Cloud Chemistry (CACC), I
work with a group of professional scientists and students who are developing laboratory and field instruments that can detect,
count and identify small particles -- aerosols -- in the atmosphere. Aerosols are now recognized as a grave health
concern and a likely source of climate changes worldwide. CACC scientists are identifying the major natural and
man-made sources of aerosols and how they react with sunlight, moisture droplets and pollutant gases, in both
the lower and upper regions of the atmosphere. My work in this group at Aerodyne is focused on detection and
identification of atmospheric aerosols by optical methods including absorption and emission spectroscopy
and laser light scattering. See more information...
Another group of professional scientists, based in the Center for Aero-thermodynamics (CATD), is studying the rates and mechanisms of the complex pyrolysis (breakdown) and oxidation (combustion) of new synthetic high-energy fuels at high temperatures. Through a combination of experimental studies of the fuels in shock waves and computer modeling of the reactions, we are developing an understanding of how these fuels behave under a range of temperatures and pressures such as are experienced in operating jet engines. My role (with students) has been to assemble the shock wave apparatus and direct the experimental reaction rate measurements and product analyses. See more information...
Other ARI scientists in the Center for Sensor Systems and Technology (CSST), are developing methods to detect and identify particles in the air that may pose a biological threat -- biohazards.
My research on optical methods of particle detection and identification has direct application in their work. Finally, developments in ultra-high resolution molecular spectroscopy by scientists in the Center for Atmospheric nd environmental chemistry (CAEC) have provided breakthroughs in the analysis of the products of reactions we are carrying out in our labs at CC.
My work with scientists at ARI and other locations expands the horizons of Connecticut College students. I bring back
to the classroom and laboratory information about current research methods, and I often arrange for student
research assistantships with and/or field trips to visit my research partners.
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