Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry - Nuclear and Isotope Chemistry

SUNY Stony Brook University

The Department of Chemistry, within the College of Arts and Sciences, offers courses of study leading to the degrees of Master of Arts in Teaching Chemistry, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy. Students in the M.A.T. program must register through the School of Professional Development. A student in the Ph.D. program may choose dissertation research in any one of the diverse areas of chemistry represented by the interests of the program faculty, or may choose an interdisciplinary topic under the guidance of a faculty member in another program. Coordinated activities exist with several programs, and include optional concentrations in chemical physics and chemical biology. Nuclear chemistry research at Stony Brook has focused on reactions induced by heavy ion beams. Beams are obtained from accelerators located at Stony Brook, Berkeley, Chicago, Michigan, and France. The reactions produce very hot and rapidly rotating atomic nuclei that are studied by observation of particles and fragments that are emitted. Their energies and angles of emission allow for a reconstruction of the properties of the hot emitting nuclei and the mechanism of their production. Isotope chemistry deals with the small differences in physical and chemical properties of matter that have their origin in the mass difference of isotopes of an element. Although the effects are small, they can be measured with high precision. In general, the effects are quantum effects, and measurement of isotope effects has proven to be a unique method for the study of molecular and intermolecular forces. Isotope effect studies have found application in chemical physics, organic chemistry and biochemistry, geochemistry, and anthropology. Practical applications are found in isotope separation processes. Our present efforts are concentrated on the systematization of isotope chemistry.