Sherwin J. Singer of Ohio State University is supported by an award from the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry program for research on the physics of ice, its thermodynamics, dielectric properties, and its defects. Two broad areas of research are being done. The first involves a study of the properties of ice from first principles, while the second involves the study of an important interfacial problem, the carbon dioxide vapor/water interface. Specific topics which are being explored in this research include the further development of the PI's graph invariant approach, a further exploration of new ice phases, the development of the PI's ideas for determining and understanding the properties of ice, and the use of computational tools to understand and explain ionic and neutral defects in ice. The second project, the study of the carbon dioxide vapor/water interface, is be carried out in conjunction with an experimental collaborator. The work is having a broader impact by revealing fundamental properties of water, arguably the world's most important solvent.
