My research focuses on the multidisciplinary area of atmospheric chemistry. Specifically photochemistry and global biogeochemical cycles. Our research group, composed of chemists and meteorologists, develops analytical instruments (such as chemiluminescent NO, NOx, NOy analyzers, NDIR CO detectors, and chemical actinometers (for photolysis rate measurements). We then employ these instruments in the laboratory, field, and on aircraft, and interpret the results in terms of photochemistry and atmospheric physics.

Design and development of transition metal catalysts capable of high selectivity in organic chemical transformations and on oxidation reactions.  Focus is on applications that are of biological and materials interest.

Biomolecular Studies Using Mass Spectrometry
Interactions of Drugs and Proteins
Rapid Characterization of Microorganisms by Mass Spectrometry
New Methods for Proteomics
Mechanisms of Acquired Drug Resistance

Ultrafast nonlinear optical spectroscopy of liquids; dynamics of nanoconfined liquids; nonlinear optical microscopy; nontraditional approaches to micro- and nanofabrication; dynamics of single molecules and single nanoparticles.

Development and application of new experimental and theoretical approaches to study structural properties, dynamics, interactions, and regulation in multidomain systems. Polyubiquitin signaling. Structure determination and analysis of proteins, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and relaxation, computational biology, molecular dynamics simulations, physical and mathematical modeling.

Organic chemistry, self-assembly in water, self-sorting, cucurbit[n]uril

DNA structure and topology in multi–protein DNA complexes.
Role of DNA structure in transcription.
Construction of nanoscale objects using DNA and protein-DNA complexes.
Application of biophysical methods and computer simulation to complex systems.

• Electrochemical synthesis of nanotube-structured materials for ultrafast electrochromics , supercapacitors, and solar cells.
• Magnetic nanotubes for MR imaging, targeted drug delivery, and chemical & biochemical separation.
• Shape-coded nanotubes for biosensors.
• Wetting and de-wetting, transport, diffusion, and reaction properties in silica nanotube reactors.

Biophysical Chemistry; Protein Folding and Design; Protein Engineering; Misfolding, Aggregation and Conformational Diseases (e.g. Alzheimer); Thermodynamics and Kinetics; Fluorescence, Circular Dichroism, NMR spectroscopy and Laser Spectroscopy; Statistical Mechanics and Computational Biology (Structure Prediction)

Bioorganic chemistry and biochemistry. Nucleic acid structure and reactivity; therapeutic and toxicology aspects of DNA modification; redox processes in enzymology, enzyme mechanisms of dehalogenation; biomimetic reactions of nickel and copper and electron transfer in nucleic acids.

The catalytic cycle of total syntheses of complex bioactive molecules and the discovery of new reaction methodologies.
Discovery of new antibiotics with novel modes of action such as disrupting quorum sensing (bacterial cell-to-cell communication) and biofilm formation.
The use of synthetic oligonucleotides to study  RNA and DNA processing.

Development of new bond breaking and bond making processes, manipulation with kinetically inert molecules (methane, dinitrogen etc.). New synthetic strategies. Experimental and calculational (ab initio, DFT) organotransition metal chemistry. Theoretical study of organometallic reactions, including small molecule activation. Design of new ligands and catalysts for organic reactions.

Research summary: structure, organization and solvation at liquid surfaces; effects of solvent structure on solubility and oil/water partitioning; nonlinear optical spectroscopy; in situ studies of oxidation in solid oxide fuel cells using vibrational spectroscopy

Theoretical studies involving: nonuniform and confined fluids, ionic fluids, hydrophobic interactions, the static and dynamic properties of solid interfaces and thin films, density functional theory, pattern formation and crystal growth

Our group maps out the positions of individual atoms in very small structures to explore the special consequences of fluctuations that arise at the nanoscale. We're investigating applications that include the control of nanoscale materials fabrication, electromigration, electrical noise in nanoelectronic devices, and flexible electronics.