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部和多学科活动办公室颁发，支持加州理工学院的Ahmed Zewail教授及其同事的研究，建立一个多学科研究实验室，研究复杂环境中的基本过程。 原子尺度分辨率的分子系统。 分子科学实验室（LMS）将涉及加州理工学院的八名教师，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的动力学; 2）光电子和光分离光谱学的飞秒动力学; 3）电催化剂和界面的结构和动力学; 4）受体蛋白质的原子尺度结构和功能; 5）DNA和凝聚相中的电子和能量转移。 LMS的目的是在复杂分子系统的微观水平上推进对五个推力领域中分子和生物功能的理解。 LMS将带来最先进的仪器，具有原子尺度的时间和空间分辨率。 利用光、电子和最终的X射线所达到的飞秒时间分辨率，将使人们有可能把真实的系统中最基本的结构与功能联系起来。 除了首席研究员Ahmed Zewail，LMS的成员还包括Fred C。放大图片作者：安森放大图片作者：巴顿鲁道夫·道金斯马库斯，B。 Vincent McKoy，Mitchio Okumura，和道格拉斯C.里斯 在过去的15年里，化学系统的空间和时间分辨率都取得了巨大的进步，一直到原子尺度。 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的理论和实验为我们理解分子功能和材料特性提供了关键。 分子科学领域确实正在经历一场革命，特别是在 化学和生物学之间的接口，可以利用新的实验工具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.