Ulises Lopez

Project: Nondestructive Polyatomic Molecule Analytics

Lab Group: Patterson Lab

Graduate Mentor: Sam Kresch

Abstract: Each molecule has a unique energy structure. Knowing the energy structure of a molecule helps identify chemical samples and can improve our understanding of fundamental physics. Since each structure is unique, the chemical sample you study should be pure so that you are only studying the structure you’re interested in. The purest possible sample is a single molecule. In the Patterson Group, we’ve developed inelastic recoil spectroscopy (IRS), a method that ensures the sample is 100% pure and provides high-precision readings by trapping and analyzing a single molecule at a time. IRS is a promising platform for studying rare chemical samples, structural isomers, and even experimentally measuring the proposed energy difference between chiral molecules.