Dr. Ziurys continues her program of investigation of the chemistry of the metallic elements in the interstellar medium through a joint laboratory and observational program. The observations are designed to identify the major molecular carriers of the metallic elements in circumstellar envelopes of evolved stars and in dense clouds through millimeter/sub-mm observations. The laboratory work supplies the spectra from which rest frequencies for the astronomical searches are obtained. Studies will begin toward IRC+10216, but then will be extended to other stars, both in the AGB and post-AGB phase, and to molecular clouds. Her goal is to construct a complete picture of metal-containing molecules, their abundances, formation mechanisms, and significance for understanding mass loss of the heavier elements from circumstellar envelopes to the interstellar medium.
