Related Groups at the University of Michigan

(1) To develop a detailed understanding of the fundamental
processes which govern chemical reaction dynamics in fluid
environments.

(2) To use sculpted light pulses to control reactions in
condensed phases.

(3) To use short light pulses to establish synchronization
and study enzyme mechanism in complicated biological
systems.

The majority of interesting reactions from a biological, environmental, or engineering perspective, occur in fluid
condensed phase environments. In such an environment a chemical reaction is controlled by intermolecular
interactions with surrounding solvent bath as well as by the intramolecular Hamiltonian. Interaction with the solvent
often results in a situation where reactions are controlled by the competition between intermolecular and intramolecular
energy relaxation on the time scales ranging from femtoseconds to picoseconds. The goals of our research program
are three fold:

In the laboratory, state-of-the-art ultrafast lasers and spectoscopic techniques are employed on the observation
and control of photoinitiated reactions in real time. These investigations are made possible by the continuing
development of tunable femtosecond light sources from the far UV to the near IR, and the development of techniques
to precisely control the phase and amplitude of coherent light pulses.

For a more detailed description of specific
research projects choose the appropriate
link below: