This award from the Division of Chemistry and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities of the Directorate of Mathematical and Physical Sciences supports the research of Professor Ahmed Zewail and colleagues at the California Institute of Technology for the establishment of a multidisciplinary research laboratory for the study of fundamental processes in complex molecular systems with atomic scale resolution. The Laboratory for Molecular Science (LMS) will involve eight members of the Cal Tech faculty and will involve research in the following five thrust areas: 1) Dynamics of Ionic Solvation and Weak Interactions; 2) Femtosecond Dynamics by Photoelectron and Photodetachment Spectroscopy; 3) Structure and Dynamics of Electrocatalysts and Interfaces; 4) Atomic-scale Structure and Function of Receptor Proteins; 5) Electron and Energy Transfer in DNA and Condensed Phases. The purpose of the LMS is to advance the understanding of molecular and biological function in the five thrust areas at the microscopic level for complex molecular systems. The LMS will bring to bear state-of-the-art instruments with temporal and spatial resolution at the atomic scale. Femtosecond time resolution achieved with light, electron, and eventually X-rays will make it possible to relate structures at the most fundamental level to functions in real systems. In addition to the Principal Investigator, Ahmed Zewail, the members of the LMS include Fred C. Anson, Jacqueline K. Barton, Dennis A. Dougherty, Rudolph A. Marcus, B. Vincent McKoy, Mitchio Okumura, and Douglas C. Rees. Over the last 15 years great strides have been made in both spatial and temporal resolution of chemical systems down to the atomic scale. This capability has provided new opportunities for studying molecular structure and dynamics in chemistry and biology. From the elementary dynamics of reactions and protein folding to the dynamics of molecular assemblies and condensed phases, theory and experiment at the fundamental scale of atomic resolution provides the key to our understanding of molecular function and materials properties. The field of molecular sciences is indeed witnessing a revolution, especially at the interface between chemistry and biology where new experimental tools can be exploited to elucidate the structure and dynamics of complex molecular systems.
