Dr. Eric Herbst at Duke University will continue his three-pronged research effort into gas phase interstellar astrochemistry. This effort will include: modeling studies in which interstellar abundances of molecules in assorted sources are calculated and compared with observational data; calculations of the rates of important reactions difficult to study in the laboratory; and collaborations with experimental investigators in the determination of sundry reaction rate coefficients. During the past twenty years, astronomers have managed to detect the presence of about eighty different molecules in interstellar and circumstellar clouds. The existence of these molecules has stimulated a large amount of research directed towards an understanding of why the molecules are present and how they are produced. Based on past research, it is safe to sayu that many if not most of the molecules detected in clouds can be synthesized from precursor atoms via gas phase processes. Dr. Herbst's research will add to our understanding of the chemistry of dense interstellar clouds.
