Faculty Research Groups

Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics

Physical Chemistry is a core discipline whose aims are the understanding and measurement of chemical phenomena in terms of fundamental underlying physical principles, and also the application of this understanding to the development of new technologies and new materials. Physical chemistry typically enjoys and profits from a close coupling of its theoretical and experimental components. With several new faculty members in recent years and a strong connection to Brookhaven National Laboratory and its extraordinary facilities, Physical Chemistry is a vibrant discipline at Stony Brook. Current research interests among the faculty cover a broad range from theoretical statistical mechanics, quantum chemistry and modeling to experimental programs from nuclear chemistry to polymers, materials, surface science, molecular dynamics, and spectroscopy. The optional chemical physics track allows students to focus even more on the fundamental physical aspects of chemistry, and usually includes courses in the physics department applicable to the student’s interest.

	Benjamin Chu Distinguished Professor. Light-scattering spectroscopy; X-ray scattering; polymer physics; colloid science, DNA electrophoresis; biomedical applications
	Ken A. Dill Professor. Director of the Laufer Center for Physical & Quantitative Biology. Statistical physics of biological molecules and cells. We model proteins, water, cell networks, dynamics of small systems, and we develop methods for computer-based drug discovery.
	David Hanson Professor. Physical chemistry; learning theory and practice.
	Benjamin S. Hsiao Professor. Fundamentals of structure, morphology, property and processing relationships in polymers; nanocomposites and biomaterials.
	Phillip Johnson Professor. Optical molecular spectroscopy.
	Roy Lacey Professor. Nuclear Chemistry
	Jin Wang Assistant Professor.Theoretical biophysics and biophysical chemistry; protein folding; molecular recognition; biomolecular reaction dynamics; single molecules.
	Michael White Professor. Dynamics and mechanisms of chemical reactions on metal and metallic nanoparticle surfaces important in energy-related, heterogeneous catalysis. Photoinduced surface reactions and electron transfer
	Stanislaus S. Wong Professor. Synthesis and characterization of chemically functionalized nanomaterials (including carbon nanotubes and quantum dots) and one-dimensional nanostructures. Physical, chemical, and biological applications of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Biophysical chemistry. Surface chemistry and reactivity. Optical spectroscopy. Probe and electron microscopies.