Richard J. Saykally

I have concentrated mainly on the development of novel laser spectroscopy technologies (e.g., velocity modulation spectroscopy, terahertz vibration-rotation-tunneling spectroscopy, cavity ringdown spectroscopy), applying them to the study of ions, radicals, and clusters in the gas phase. Recent efforts have focused on the highly detailed study of small water clusters as a route to unraveling some of the famous "mysteries" of liquid water, of which spectroscopic determination of the water pair potential is an example. Other efforts include the study of carbon clusters and PAH molecules as to their possible roles in astrophysics, the development of "chemical imaging ultramicroscopy for the study of biological membranes," and the study of liquid/vapor interfaces.