PHYS Symposia at the Spring 2014 ACS National
Meeting
in Dallas, Texas
Program Chair: Prof. Nancy Levinger
The Physical Chemistry Division is pleased to sponsor the following symposia at the upcoming ACS National Meeting, March 16-20, in Dallas.
INTERFACES IN ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS
Interfaces at charged surfaces play a critical role for controlling the
power and durability
of electrochemical devices such as batteries and supercapacitors. Advanced
in situ
diagnostics are now focusing on interfacial layers with characteristic
length scales of tens
of nm (solid-electrolyte interfaces, SEI) or tens of Ångstroms (electric
double layer).
Simultaneously, advanced theoretical developments provide interpretations
of these
experiments as well as new predictions of the chemical, transport, and
mechanical
processes that occur at electrified interfaces. These approaches will, for
the first time,
elucidate the microscopic mechanisms dictating cell life and performance.
The goal of this
symposium is to foster these new efforts to understand these
physical-chemical
processes.
Stephen Harris, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab,
harris.steveharris@gmail.com
David Limmer, University of California, Berkeley,
dlimmer@berkeley.edu
Kristin Persson, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, KAPersson@lbl.gov
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY OF LOW DIMENSIONAL NANOMATERIALS: FROM DOTS TO WIRES TO SHEETS
This symposium will focus on experimental and theoretical advances in the
size-, shapeand dimensionality-dependent optical and electrical properties
of nanoscale materials.
Our focus will include quantum dots, nanoclusters, nanowires and layered
materials.
Also of interest are hybrid systems based on mixed compositions or mixed
dimensionalities made through bottom-up chemistries. Submissions on
ensemble as well
as single nanostructure imaging and spectroscopic techniques with high
spatial and/or
temporal resolution are encouraged. Given the rapid growth of nanostructure
applications, fundamental studies covering the fate of photogenerated
charges and other
excitations will represent another major topical thrust of the
symposium.
Masaru Kuno, Notre Dame University, Masaru.K.Kuno.1@nd.edu
Rongchao Jin, Carnegie Mellon University, rongchao@andrew.cmu.edu
Matthew Sfeir, Brookhaven National Laboratory, msfeir@bnl.gov
A LITTLE INSIGHT GOES A LONG WAY:
A TRANSFORMATIVE
ROLE OF THEORY IN SPECTROSCOPY AND CHEMICAL
DYNAMICS
The symposium will highlight a transformative role that theory plays in modern research by making bold predictions, guiding the design of new experiments, and enabling insightful interpretation of experimental observations. The focus of the symposium will be on the theories and computational approaches connecting experimental observations to the underlying interactions between atoms and molecules developed by Prof. Benny Gerber and his colleagues, collaborators, students, and post docs. The topics will cover a broad range of experimental and theoretical physical chemistry including atmospheric processes, novel rare gas containing compound, new spectroscopic approaches, and more.
Anna I. Krylov, University of Southern California, krylov@usc.edu
Masha Y. Niv, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, niv@agri.huji.ac.il
Susan K. Gregurick, Dept. of Energy, susan.gregurick@science.doe.gov
Anne B. McCoy, Ohio State University, mccoy@chemistry.ohio-state.edu
IN SITU STUDIES OF FUEL CELL MATERIALS AND DEVICES
The need for clean and efficient production of electrical power has
motivated rapid
progress in fuel cell (FC) development. However, formidable hurdles must
still be
overcome before FCs are ready for widespread commercial development. This
symposium will highlight recently developed methods that characterize and
quantify
elementary oxygen reduction and fuel oxidation reactions as well as
contaminant
poisoning and mechanisms responsible for device failure with an emphasis on
solid oxide
fuel cells (SOFCs) and proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The
interplay
between in situ experimental findings and the development of detailed
kinetic models
designed to optimize device performance and minimize material degradation
will be a
common theme throughout the symposium.
Robert A. Walker, Montana State University, rawalker@chemistry.montana.edu
Jeffrey C. Owrutsky, Naval Research Laboratory, jeff.owrutsky@nrl.navy.mil
CLUSTERS IN CATALYSIS
Small clusters of transition metals are intriguing species with unexpected
electronic
structures. Those are manifested in specific and highly tunable properties
of clusters,
such as catalytic activity that depends strongly and non-linearly on
cluster size and
composition. The symposium will focus on small clusters, both stand-alone,
and as parts
of catalytic materials, understanding the relationships between the
electronic structure of
these clusters and their catalytic activities, and further rational
manipulation of the latter
through the former. We hope to facilitate the discussion between people
from the entire
spectrum of cluster science, from fundamentals to industrial applications.
Anastassia N. Alexandrova, University of California, Los Angeles,
ana@chem.ucla.edu
Mark Saeys, National University of Singapore, saeys@nus.edu.sg
THERMODYNAMICS, REACTIVITY, AND SPECTROSCOPY OF THE HEAVY ELEMENTS
Compounds of heavy elements, lanthanides and actinides, have unique
magnetic,
catalytic, and luminescent properties. They are critical to energy
technologies, including
solar panels, solar hydrogen production, wind turbines, electric vehicles,
energy-efficient
lighting, and nuclear technologies. Furthermore, they have important
catalytic properties.
In order to be able to design materials that are efficient and safe to use,
it is essential to
have greater insight about the thermodynamics, reactivity, and spectroscopy
of heavy
element materials and compounds. This symposium will focus upon both
theoretical and
experimental efforts and developments towards better understanding these
properties.
Angela K. Wilson, University of North Texas, akwilson@unt.edu
Paul Bagus, University of North Texas, bagus@unt.edu
Laura Gagliardi, University of Minnesota, gagliard@umn.edu
Hicham Idriss, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, CRI/KAUST, idrissh@sabic.com
CHEMISTRY IN THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM: NEW FRONTIERS IN LABORATORY, THEORY, AND OBSERVATIONS
This symposium highlights interdisciplinary astrochemistry research efforts
with the
ultimate goal of elucidating the chemistry of the interstellar medium.
Topics for this
symposium include results from recent molecular observations, laboratory
investigations
of chemical reaction dynamics in gases, ices, and on surfaces, laboratory
spectral studies
of interstellar molecules, kinetic modeling of the chemistry of
interstellar clouds, and
laboratory and observational studies of large molecules. These topics cover
state-of-theart spectroscopy, kinetics, and dynamics experiments,
complemented by theoretical
predictions, allowing a characterization of the elementary reactions that
also occur during
the processes of star- and planet-formation.
Eric Herbst, University of Virginia, eh2ef@virginia.edu
Ralf I. Kaiser, University of Hawaii, ralfk@hawaii.edu
Susanna Widicus Weaver, Emory University, susanna.widicus.weaver@emory.edu
ULTRAFAST PROCESSES IN PROTEINS: THEORY AND EXPERIMENT
Incomplete understanding of light-triggered processes in proteins imposes
severe limits in
harnessing biological activity to generate useful functions such as solar
energy
conversion, vision, photo-transduction, gene-regulation and gene-repair.
Similar
understanding is required for the engineering of novel photoactive
materials including
genetically encoded optical probes and light-responsive
receptors/actuators. The primary
photodynamics extending from femtoseconds to picoseconds is central to the
efficiency
of these processes and requires the use of advanced ultrafast
spectroscopies and stateof-the-art quantum chemical computations to be
adequately studied. This symposium will
provide an overview of the current advancements in ultrafast protein
dynamics, both
theoretical and experimental, necessary to reconstruct the mechanisms
underlying the
photoactivated responses of proteins including photosystems, flavoproteins,
rhodopsins,
photoenzymes, fluorescent proteins, and their corresponding chromophores.
Delmar Larsen, University of California Davis, dlarsen@ucdavis.edu
Massimo Olivucci, Bowling Green State University/Sienna University, molivuc@bgsu.edu
Physical Chemistry Poster Session
Contributions from all areas of physical chemistry are highly encouraged
for the poster session to be held on Wednesday evening, March 19, 2014.
At the meeting in Dallas, TX, several awards with monetary prizes will
be awarded for student posters. To be eligible for the awards, the
presenting author must be a graduate or undergraduate student at the time
of the poster presentation.
Nancy Levinger, Colorado State University,
nancy.levinger@colostate.edu
Call For Papers for Fall 2021
The call for papers for the 262nd National Meeting & Exposition in Atlanta, GA in Aug. 2021 may be found here.
Symposium Suggestions?
If you have ideas for symposia for upcoming ACS National Meetings, please contact us.
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