Postdoc/Research positions
FROM:
Prof. Kent R. Wilson
Department of Chemistry 0339
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0339
krwilson-: at :-ucsd.edu (INTERNET) Please cc: ljwiley-: at :-ucsd.edu
krwilson-: at :-ucsd (BITNET) Please cc: ljwiley-: at :-ucsd
FAX: (619) 534-7654
RE: Available Postdoctoral & Research Positions
I would like to ask your help in finding the right candidates for
three appointments in my research group, two in experiment and one in
theory. The area is the microscopic understanding of chemical reactions
in solution, including enzyme and other catalyzed reactions. The level of
the positions is Post-doctoral, or possibly Research Staff level for
someone very special who has already had extensive post-doctoral
experience.
The object of our research is the microscopic understanding in
terms of molecular dynamics of chemical reactions in solution. I believe
that simple theoretical and pictorial models will increasingly be found for
solution reactions, just as they have been found for gas phase chemistry.
Some of our specific areas of research interest include: i) the route to the
transition state, in other words what is special about those solvent-
reagent trajectories which actually climb the barrier, ii) the mechanism
of power flow from solvent to reagents (as well as within the solvent and
the reagents) which enables barrier climbing and allows chemical
reactions to take place, iii) the development of the proper phasing or
correlations of the solvent and reagent motions needed (in addition to
energy flow) for reaction in solution, iv) the development of theories and
simple models for all of the above, and v) the experimental testing,
particularly with femtosecond and picosecond spectroscopy, of the
theories and models we are developing. We hope to apply related concepts
to catalysis and biomolecular processes. Our emphasis is on the
comparison among theoretical models, computational molecular dynamics,
and experimental measurements. I encourage collaboration both within
my own group and with other theoretical and experimental research
groups.
The starting time is flexible, and a minimum period of two years
is expected. The pay scale can vary from $26,220 per year for a
beginning post-doctoral to $41,600 per year for a Staff Research
Associate position, for someone with considerable experience.
A few recent papers which indicate some of our interests in more
detail are.
1. B. J. Gertner, R. M. Whitnell, K. R. Wilson and J. T. Hynes
"Activation to the Transition State: Reactant and Solvent Energy
Flow for a Model SN2 Reaction in Water", Journal of the American
Chemical Society, 113, 74 (1991)
2. Y. S. Li and K. R. Wilson: "What Can Gas Phase Reactions Tell Us
about Solution Reactions?", Journal of Chemical Physics, 93, 8821 (1990)
3. I. Benjamin, B. J. Gertner, N. J. Tang and K. R. Wilson: "Energy
Flow in an Atom Exchange Chemical Reaction in Solution," Journal
of the American Chemical Society, 112, 524 (1990)
4. I. Benjamin and Kent R. Wilson: "Proposed Experimental Probes of
Chemical Reaction Molecular Dynamics in Solution: ICN Photodissociation,"
Journal of Chemical Physics, 90, 4176 (1989).
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