Dr. Champion will use resonance Raman and Rayleigh scattering techniques to probe the electronic and nuclear structure/function relationships of biological molecules such as the heme and iron sulfur proteins. He hopes to achieve a better understanding of the resonant light scattering properties of these molecules and to apply this knowledge to the elucidation of their mechanism of action. Related techniques, such as electronic absorption spectroscopy, will also be used and theoretical relationships that link a variety of experimental measurements will be developed. This work is significant not only in its relationship to biological science but also in its connection to the understanding of basic light-matter interactions.
