This Research Opportunities for Women Career Advancement Award project is in the general area of Analytical and Surface Chemistry and in the subfield of nonlinear reaction processes. During the twelve month period beginning 1 July 1988, Professor Larter will carry out research in the area of nonlinear dynamics, specifically a theoretical investigation into the oscillatory behavior of the peroxidase-oxidase reaction to determine if that system exhibits dynamical instability known as chemical chaos and, if so, to define the conditions under which this phenomenon is observed. By analyzing the complex oscillatory behavior of the peroxidase- oxidase reaction, Dr. Larter will seek to discover not only the origin of chaotic behavior in that particular system but also a general understanding of chaos in chemical oscillators. This Career Advancement Award will enable Dr. Larter to broaden her research activities and to establish a viable, independent investigative program that addresses the impact of spatial nonuniformities on chemical processes. The results of this research should be broadly important in the chemical sciences and could also find application in a number of other fields including solid state physics, meteorology, and even economics.
