Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry - Photon Molecule Interactions

SUNY Stony Brook University

The Department of Chemistry, within the College of Arts and Sciences, offers courses of study leading to the degrees of Master of Arts in Teaching Chemistry, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy. Students in the M.A.T. program must register through the School of Professional Development. A student in the Ph.D. program may choose dissertation research in any one of the diverse areas of chemistry represented by the interests of the program faculty, or may choose an interdisciplinary topic under the guidance of a faculty member in another program. Coordinated activities exist with several programs, and include optional concentrations in chemical physics and chemical biology. Recent developments in the use of lasers for the investigation of molecular structure and dynamics have led to a revolution in the fields of molecular spectroscopy and dynamics. Intimate details about the structure and interactions of atoms and molecules can now be studied to an extent never before possible. In this program the systems being studied by laser spectroscopy range from atoms and diatomic molecules to molecular crystals and polymers. In these systems various properties are being investigated, including nonlinear interactions with the radiation field, excited state electronic structure, radiationless transitions, ionization mechanisms, crystal field interactions, and photochemical reactions, as well as electron and energy transfer processes. Luminescence spectroscopy, luminescence excitation, multiphoton ionization, multiphoton photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy are among the techniques being used and developed for the ever greater understanding of atomic and molecular systems.