CAREER: Ultrafast x-ray imaging of molecular dynamics in solution: a research program that enhances students' learning

布朗大学的克里斯托夫·罗斯-彼得鲁克教授是通过实验物理化学项目的职业资助获得资金的。他将利用新获得的超快X射线脉冲来研究金属羰基在溶液中光解过程中的分子运动。这样做的好处是，利用X射线吸收光谱，可以第一次对超短寿命分子物种进行直接结构测定。Rose-Petruck教授将制作一份《虚拟实验室手册》，使学生能够在实验室进行真实实验之前，使用模拟仪器进行练习，并处理样本原始数据。在更高级的水平上，学生们将与Rose-Petruck的“虚拟研究项目”合作，并在小组工作中从模拟研究项目中学习。到目前为止，进行反应的化学物种的结构只能使用严重依赖理论解释的基于光的技术来推测。有了超快的x射线脉冲，科学家将有更大的机会以直接的方式获得非常短暂的物种的“快照”。了解化学反应中的结构变化将导致设计更有效的合成途径。这里的教育计划以一种互动的方式利用万维网来改善实验室的学习。

Professor Christoph Rose-Petruck of Brown University is funded through a CAREER grant in the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program. He will utilize newly acquired ultrafast X-ray pulses to study the molecular motions accompanying the photolysis of metal carbonyls in solution. The advantage here is that using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, direct structural determinations can be made for the first time on ultra-short lived molecular species. Professor Rose-Petruck will produce a "Virtual Laboratory Manual" which enables students to practice with simulated instruments and deal with sample raw data before performing the real experiment in the laboratory. At a more advanced level, students will then work with Rose-Petruck's "Virtual Research Project" and in group work, learn from a simulated research project.The structures of chemical species undergoing reactions have to date only been surmised using light-based techniques that rely heavily on theory for interpretation. With ultrafast x-ray pulses, scientists will have a greater chance of getting "snapshots" of very short lived species in a direct manner. Understanding structural changes in a chemical reaction will lead to the design of more efficient synthetic pathways. The educational plan here utilizes the World Wide Web in an interactive fashion to improve learning in the laboratory.