This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Program will help the Department of Chemistry at Ohio State University purchase laser equipment. This equipment will be used in the following research activities: 1) Time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) for picosecond fluorescence lifetime measurements. 2) Picosecond and femtosecond UV/Visible transient absorption measurements. 3) Picosecond transient resonance Raman measurements and picosecond transient IR absorption measurements. 4) Nonlinear optical (NLO) characterization of materials using degenerate four wave mixing (DFWM) and the optical Kerr effect (OKE). Lasers emit a narow beam of coherent, powerful and nearly monochromatic electromagnetic radiation. This radiation is used in Chemistry to study a broad range of subjects, from the dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids to photoelectron transfer processes, and from interfacial chemistry to picosecond pulse shaping. Lasers are also useful in optics, communications, and engineering.
