Dynamics of Highly Excited Hydrocarbons: From Supercollisions to Super-reactions

在这个由化学学部实验物理化学项目资助的教师早期职业发展项目中，Mullin将使用瞬态红外吸收光谱来研究高振动激发分子的动态过程。相互联系的过程，如单分子分解，碰撞能量转移和双分子反应，伴随着高能量物质的弛豫将被研究。通过紫外激光激发制备高激发振动态的受激分子，并利用高分辨率红外激光快速光学检测确定产物的最终量子态分布。要研究的分子体系有s-四嗪、苯和azulene。为了提高年轻女性参与科学研究的程度，穆林将发起一系列社区外展项目，旨在为初中和高中女生提供信息，并为她们上大学的科学课程和未来的科学职业做好更好的准备。在大学层面，将设计一个包括课堂、研究和课外活动的项目，以改善理科本科生和研究生的学术环境，并提供更多接触资深女性导师的机会。我们对许多高能环境的化学和物理的理解将从穆林博士的研究项目的结果中得到加强。这些研究将遵循能量离开内部高度兴奋的分子时的不同可能路径。结果将导致在各种高能系统，如等离子体，爆炸，火焰，燃烧和材料加工的高能环境的化学更深入的了解。穆林博士的教育计划旨在提供拓展和指导活动，这将增加妇女在科学事业中的参与。

In this Faculty Early Career Development Program funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program in the Chemistry Division, Mullin will use transient infrared absorption spectroscopy to examine dynamical processes of highly vibrationally excited molecules. Interconnected processes such as unimolecular decomposition, collisional energy transfer, and bimolecular reactions which accompany the relaxation of the high energy species will be investigated. The excited molecules will be prepared in highly excited vibrational states by ultraviolet laser excitation, and the final quantum state distributions of the products will be determined using high-resolution infrared lasers with fast optical detection. Among the molecular systems to be studied are s-tetrazine, benzene, and azulene. In her efforts to increase the extent to which young women engage in scientific study, Mullin will initiate a series of community outreach programs designed to inform and better prepare junior and senior high school girls for college science classes and future careers in science. At the university level, a program of classroom, research, and extracurricular activities will be designed to improve the academic environment for women undergraduate and graduate science students, and to provide increased access to senior women mentors. Our understanding of the chemistry and physics of numerous high-energy environments will be enhanced from the results of Dr. Mullin's research program. These studies will follow the different possible paths that energy takes as it leaves a molecule which has been highly excited internally. The results will lead to a deeper knowledge of the chemistry of energetic environments in various high-energy systems, such as plasmas, explosions, flames, combustion, and materials processing. Dr. Mullin's educational program is designed to provide outreach and mentoring activities which will increase the participation of women in scientific careers.