In this project, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Stephen Drucker of the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire and his undergraduate research students will investigate the triplet excited states of a variety of cyclic enones using a variety of laser spectroscopic methods. The ultimate goal of these studies is to explore intrinsic differences between the excited singlet and triplet states of these conjugated molecules. The results of these studies will be of interest to scientists exploring solution phase photochemistry as well as computational chemists. Prof. Drucker and his students will collaborate with researchers at Texas A&M, Purdue and Hanyang (Korea) Universities.
Besides the potential broader scientific impact of the proposed research, Prof. Drucker will continue to provide his undergraduate research students (recently predominantly female) with valuable research experience, which will help them to pursue careers in science and technology.
