Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (LMS): Caltech's Multi-Disciplinary Activities for Studies of Fundamental Processes in Complex Systems

该奖项由数学和物理科学理事会化学系和多学科活动办公室颁发，支持加州理工学院Ahmed Zewail教授及其同事建立多学科研究实验室，以原子尺度分辨率研究复杂分子系统的基本过程。分子科学实验室（LMS）将由加州理工学院的八名教师组成，并将涉及以下五个重点领域的研究：1)离子溶剂化和弱相互作用动力学；2)光电子和光剥离光谱飞秒动力学；3)电催化剂和界面的结构与动力学；受体蛋白的原子尺度结构与功能；5) DNA和凝聚相中的电子和能量传递。LMS的目的是在微观水平上促进对复杂分子系统的五个推力领域的分子和生物学功能的理解。LMS将采用最先进的仪器，在原子尺度上具有时间和空间分辨率。利用光、电子以及最终的x射线实现的飞秒时间分辨率，将有可能把最基本的结构与实际系统中的功能联系起来。除了首席研究员Ahmed Zewail， LMS的成员还包括Fred C. Anson、Jacqueline K. Barton、Dennis A. Dougherty、Rudolph A. Marcus、B. Vincent McKoy、Mitchio Okumura和Douglas C. Rees。在过去的15年里，在化学系统的空间和时间分辨率上取得了巨大的进步，直到原子尺度。这种能力为研究化学和生物学中的分子结构和动力学提供了新的机会。从反应和蛋白质折叠的基本动力学到分子组装和凝聚相的动力学，原子分辨率基本尺度上的理论和实验为我们理解分子功能和材料性质提供了关键。分子科学领域确实正在见证一场革命，特别是在化学和生物学之间的界面，新的实验工具可以用来阐明复杂分子系统的结构和动力学。

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.