My lab unifies laser technology with particle accelerator technology to produce a sophisticated spectrometer for precision studies of high energy molecular states. The preparation of these states involves two steps; the first stage utilizes a collision process to prepare a metastable state of a molecule in a fast beam. In the second stage a laser beam or beams overlaps the fast beam coaxially and results in a transition from the metastable state to a higher energy state. These states can be identified via autoionization and electric field ionization. Using this experimental approach, work is under way to study the high-energy spectrum of triplet molecular hydrogen, in particular ion-pair states referred to as Heavy Rydberg States.

Ph. D. University of California, Berkeley

Postdoctoral Research - Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland