MRI: Acquisition of an Emission Lifetime Spectrometer to Support Multidisciplinary Research and Research Training at Montana State University

该奖项由化学系和主要研究仪器(MRI)项目共同资助，蒙大拿州立大学的Bern Kohler教授和他的同事Robert A.Walker将获得一台光发射寿命光谱仪。该奖项将加强各级的研究培训和教育，特别是在基础光物理、太阳能转换和材料表征方面。特别是DNA发射动力学，固/液界面溶质异构化和聚集，离子-电子混合导电材料的结构和降解，病毒和仿生纳米材料中金属结合部位的发光探针，配位聚合物中的能量和电子转移，蛋白质和2D凝胶中的荧光衰减，以及用于非线性光学应用的新型发色团的研究。激发态原子、分子和材料的光(光子)发射是实验科学中最基本和最通用的工具之一。激光先前照射后发出的光的强度和速率提供了对材料的分子结构如何结构以及它如何释放存储的能量的洞察。这些信息可以用于从太阳能转换到激光医疗应用的许多应用中。本科生和研究生将受益于该仪器的多功能性和易用性，因为他们在研究中接受了使用它的培训。此外，光谱仪将为科学界代表性不足的群体提供教育机会。来自蒙大拿州保留地的美国印第安人高中生将在每年夏天使用发射寿命光谱仪，作为为期六周的研究入门课程的一部分，蒙大拿州的七所部落大学计划进一步推广。

With this award co-funded by the Division of Chemistry and the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, Professor Bern Kohler and colleague Robert A. Walker from Montana State University will acquire an optical emission lifetime spectrometer. The award will enhance research training and education at all levels, especially in fundamental photophysics, solar energy conversion, and materials characterization. The acquisition will be especially directed at studies of DNA emission dynamics, solute isomerization and aggregation at solid/liquid interfaces, structure and degradation in mixed ion-electron conducting materials, luminescence probes of metal binding sites in viruses and bioinspired nanomaterials, energy and electron transfer in coordination polymers, fluorescence decay in proteins and 2D gels, and studies of novel chromophores for nonlinear-optical applications.Emission of light (photons) by excited atoms, molecules, and materials is one of the most fundamental and versatile tools in experimental science. The intensity and rate at which the light is emitted after prior irradiation by a laser provides insight on how the molecular structure of a material is structured and how it releases the stored energy. This information can be used in numerous applications ranging from solar energy conversion to laser medical applications. Undergraduate and graduate students will benefit from the instrument's versatility and ease of use as they are trained in its use in their research. Furthermore, the spectrometer will provide educational opportunities to groups underrepresented in science. American Indian high school students from Montana's reservations will use the emission lifetime spectrometer every summer as part of a six-week introduction to research, and further outreach is planned at Montana's seven tribal colleges.