PETER M. FELKER 
Associate Professor; BS, Union College; PhD, California Institute of
Technology; Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship; Presidential Young Investigator Award; Herbert Newby McCoy Award; Coblentz Award.
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:
The research in our group involves studies of the spectroscopy and dynamics
of molecules and weakly bound molecular complexes in ultracold molecular beams. One area of research pertains to the elucidation of intermolecular forces
via high resolution rotational-vibrational spectroscopy of gas-phase molecular complexes . Weak intermolecular forces are pervasive and extremely
important in chemistry. Our studies employ novel nonlinear Raman and picosecond-resolved spectroscopic techniques in an effort to characterize
such forces through the determination of the geometries and vibrational structures of the complexes. A second area of interest relates to the study of weak intramolecular interactions such as those that determine the
conformation of an alkyl chain moiety on a given species. Here, again, high resolution rotational and rovibrational spectroscopies, in conjunction
with molecular beam techniques, are used to obtain information on the potential energy surfaces characterizing these intramolecular forces. Finally, we are interested in following the dynamics of isolated (i.e., gas-phase)
molecules directly in the time domain. Intramolecular energy flow processes
and photochemical reactions, and the dependence of such processes on
various parameters, are being studied by means of picosecond spectroscopic techniques.
KEY CONCEPTS AND WORDS:
Chemical Physics: nonlinear laser spectroscopy; picosecond time-domain
studies of structure and dynamics; molecular beam spectroscopy.