THE SPECTROGRAPH Volume 23, Number 2 Spring 2007
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THE SPECTROGRAPH Volume 23, Number 2 Spring 2007 George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology Good Vibrations! Graham Fleming to Give Lord Professor Moungi Bawendi, an MIT MIT Institute Professor and Spectroscopy Lecture April 24 chemistry professor and Spectroscopy Laboratory core researcher Mildred Dres- Laboratory core researcher, has been se- selhaus is the North American winner of a lected as one of eight winners of the 2007 2007 L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award of the in Science. Department of Energy, Secretary of En- She and four other recipients, each repre- ergy Samuel W. Bodman has announced. senting a different continent, were named at The award honors scientists and engineers a February 22 ceremony at UNESCO House at mid-career for exceptional contributions Dresselhaus, continues on page 3 in research and development that support its mission to advance the national, economic and The Executive Committee of the MIT energy security of the United States. Bawen- Corporation has announced that William di is cited for “chemical synthesis and char- H. Green, a professor in MIT’s Chemical Bawendi, continues on page 2 Engineering Dept and a core Spectros- copy Laboratory researcher, has been pro- moted to full professor. Green is known for his work in formulating accurate chemical kinetic models using state-of- the art quantum chemistry techniques to quantitatively predict the time evolution Graham Fleming of chemical mixtures, and for methods for Professor Graham R. Fleming of UC Berke- constructing and solving the associated ley will deliver the 2007 Richard C. Lord large reaction schemes. These models re- lecture on April 24, on “Two dimensional late to combustion, pyrolysis and other ultrafast electronic spectroscopy”. complicated, technologically important, Fleming was born in Barrow, England in reactive chemical processes. The results 1949. He received his Bachelor of Science are used to test and predict experimental degree in 1971 from the University of Bris- data he obtains using laser techniques to tol and his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1974 from probe free radicals in the gas phase. Green London University. He conducted postdoc- is well known as an excellent teacher, toral research at the California Institute of and has made signifi cant contributions to Technology, the University of Melbourne, Professor Moungi Bawendi the revitalizing the Chemical Engineer- and the Royal Institute, UK. In 1979 Dr. Also in this issue ing curriculum, including a new course Fleming joined the faculty at the Univer- “Introduction to Chemical Engineering”. sity of Chicago where he became the Arthur Research Report: ~ He was a member of MIT’s Energy Re- Holly Compton Distinguished Service Pro- Chirality Distribution of Carbon search Council, and plays a leadership fessor in 1987. In 1997 he accepted a posi- Nanotube Materials role in several industry-sponsored energy tion at the University of California-Berkeley ~ Research Report: research projects at MIT. where he is currently the Melvin Calvin Dis- A New Hybrid Multivariate tinguished Professor of Chemistry. Calibration Method Page 1 Fleming is one of the world’s foremost authorities on ultrafast processes and con- ~ Spring Seminar: tinues to make revolutionary discover- Modern Optics and Spectroscopy ies in biophysics. Currently, his group is ~ Workshop studying dynamical processes in a range of Lester Wolfe Workshop : Optical complex systems, such as liquids, solutions Methods in Breast Cancer and proteins, with the goal of understand- ing the primary steps of photosynthesis. ~ Spectral Lines: This may lead to a breakthrough in artifi cial Pop Spectrum Professor William H. Green, Jr. Lord, continues on page 3 Page 1 Bawendi, continued from page 1 Personality versity, both national universities. Ram- acterization of functional semiconducting Ramachandra Dasari achandra’s graduate research was on the nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots.” electronic spectroscopy of simple mole- Bawendi, a materials chemist, developed cules. After graduation, in 1962, he joined a synthesis of semiconductor nanocrystals the Physics Department of the Indian In- that was the fi rst to enable precise control of stitute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT), a new their size and precise determination of their university established in collaboration properties. Using the Bawendi synthesis, nanocrystals are now routinely made to or- with nine US universities, led by MIT. He der. One of the world’s leaders in nanotech- was one of the fi rst new faculty and one of nology, his research focuses on the synthesis, the few faculty members with an all Indian electronic properties and optical properties education, more than 90% of the new fac- of semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum ulty coming from the nine US universities. dots) for applications as diverse as biol- Ramachandra’s connection to MIT ogy, optoelectronics and nanoelectronics. dates back to 1966, when he came for two Moungi G. Bawendi was born in 1961 years as a fellow under the US AID pro- in Paris, France. He received his A.B. in Ramachandra Dasari, Associate Direc- gram with an allowance of $8 per day. For Chemistry from Harvard University in 1982, tor of the Spectroscopy Laboratory, is the two years he worked in the research group his A.M. in Chemical Physics from Harvard glue that binds the Laboratory together. of Professor Ali Javan, who had just ar- in 1983, and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Confi dant to Spectroscopy Laboratory rived at MIT from Bell Laboratories after The University of Chicago in 1988. He was graduate students and professors, expert having invented the helium-neon laser. a Postdoctoral Member of the Technical negotiator, project organizer and trouble- During this period Ramachandra gained Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories from 1988- shooter, Ramachandra is always there valuable experience in fabricating lasers 1990. In 1990, he began teaching at MIT. when he is needed. And when it comes to and conducting research based on the new The Lawrence Award was established equipment purchases, Ramachandra al- laser spectroscopy. With this background, in 1959 in honor of Ernest O. Lawrence, a ways knows how to get those special dis- he returned to IIT and established one of UC Berkeley physicist and Nobel Laureate counts. Sometimes the equipment manu- the largest laser laboratories in India, and who invented the cyclotron and after whom two major DOE laboratories at UC Berke- facturers even pay him for the privilege of trained a large number of Ph.D. students ley and in Livermore, California are named. placing their equipment in laser research. Gradu- in Spectroscopy Labo- “...Ramachandra did well ate students were trained THE SPECTROGRAPH ratory laboratories—at and was sent on to high to fabricate then-novel Published by the George R. Harrison Spec- least it seems that way! school, although this re- and (then considered by troscopy Laboratory at the Massachusetts Ramachandra was some) esoteric lasers such Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA born in a village of 50 quired walking a few miles as molecular nitrogen and 02139-4307. Comments, suggestions, and houses or less in the each day without slippers... argon ion, in addition to inquiries can be directed to the editor. in Krishna District of helium-neon. Few if any Editors: Geoff O’Donoghue & Mei-Hui Liu Andhra Pradesh, probably in 1933. His lasers could be purchased at that time, and GEORGE R. HARRISON exact birth date is not recorded. His par- there were no company reps. And besides, SPECTROSCOPY LABORATORY ents owned a small farm. Neither his fa- laser equipment, even if it did exist, would Director: Michael S. Feld ther nor his mother had any schooling, be beyond the tiny budget of a fl edgling Assoc. Director for Scientifi c Coordination: although his mother could read and write. Indian university. So, as Ramachandra ex- Robert W. Field His grandfather, a deeply religious man plains, building lasers became the way of Associate Director: who lived in a neighboring village, had life of his laboratory, and this provided ex- Ramachandra R. Dasari the strong belief that his family must start cellent training for the graduate students. The Spectroscopy Laboratory houses two laser to become educated. Overcoming enor- Ramachandra’s laboratory was also research resource facilities. The MIT Laser Re- mous diffi culties, he built an elementary noted for developing interactions with search Facility provides shared facilities for core school in his village and selected Ram- R&D laboratories throughout India. And researchers to carry out basic laser research in the achandra as one of the students. Ramach- using the home built lasers and classi- physical sciences. The MIT Laser Biomedical andra moved to his grandfather’s village cal sources, Ramachandra continued his Research Center, a National Institutes of Health where his grandfather raised him. Ram- studies in molecular spectroscopy, which Biomedical Research Technology Center, is a resource center for laser biomedical studies. The achandra did well and was sent on to high led to the fi rst observation of the elec- LBRC supports core and collaborative research school, although this required walking tronic spectra of the NSe molecule. He in technological research and development. In a few miles each day without slippers. was promoted to full professor at IIT in addition, it provides advanced laser instrumenta- Ramachandra’s early education was in 1973. As a member of the Physics Panel tion, along with technical and scientifi c support, Telugu, his mother tongue, and thus his of the University Grants Commission, he free of charge to university, industrial, and medi- cal researchers for publishable research projects. English was weak until he entered college. introduced new initiatives for improv- Call or write for further information or to receive His undergraduate studies were at Andhra ing undergraduate education and orga- our mailings. University, 15 miles from his village. He nized workshops for training teachers. received his Masters degree in 1956 from Ramachandra left IIT in 1978, and spent (617) 253-4881 Benaras Hindu University and his Ph.D.