Professor Scott Kable

My research is divided into four streams - 1) reaction dynamics, 2) atmospheric chemistry; 3) spectroscopy of radicals, and 4) science education. The first three are experimental research conducted in the Molecular Photonics Laboratories (co-led with Prof Tim Schmidt), while the third area is run in collaboration with researchers in the Advancing Science by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory (ASELL)Project (www.asell.org)

1. Reaction Dynamics and Mechanisms

Collaborators: Prof Jordan (U.Syd.), Dr Osborn (Sandia Nat'l Labs), Prof Bowman (Emory Univ.) Prof Houston (Cornell Univ.) In this project we excite isolated molecules with a laser and detect the reaction products with exceptional sensitivity. In detecting the products we measure the speed of the fragments, their internal energy, and their orientation. This high level of detail allows us to determine the mechanism of the reaction, and to discover new mechanisms when known mechanisms do not fit the experimental picture. Our most significant recent discoveries include: i) Roaming pathways. Conventional chemical theory cannot explain many details of these reactions. ii) Phototautomerization. We discovered recently that when small carbonyls absorb light they undergo tautomerization. This might explain the origin of organic acids in the atmosphere, which is vastly underrepresented in atmospheric models.

2. Atmospheric Chemistry

Collaborators:  Prof Jordan (Univ. Sydney), A/Prof Fisher (Univ. Wollongong), Dr Hansen (UNSW), Dr Fittschen (Univ. Lille). In this project we discover new reaction mechanisms and pathways relevant to atmospheric chemistry.  Photochemical pathways are probed in the laboratory, validated using computational chemistry and tested in global atmospheric models.  We determine fundamental photochemical processes using molecular beam experiments, and also photooxidation and photo reduction fates of these fundamental processes under atmospheric conditions. Our philosophy is that atmospheric processes can only be truly understood if the fundamental process are first determined.

3. Spectroscopy of Radicals

Collaborators: Prof Schmidt (UNSW), Dr Osborn and Dr Taatjes (Sandia), Prof Heard and Dr Whalley (Univ. of Leeds) Free radicals are the chain carriers in almost all complex chemical reactions. Although they feature in chemical models, many have not been discovered. In this project we create and isolate free radicals using an electric discharge. The radicals are cooled in the molecular beam and subjected to spectroscopic and mass analysis, which allows us to determine the radicals that are formed. We are specifically looking for radicals that might be formed in the interstellar medium, radicals that are formed in engines, and radicals that are formed in the atmosphere.

4. Science Education

Collaborators: Prof Sharma (U. Syd.), Prof Buntine (Curtin Univ.) and other members of the ASELL team. Prof Buntine and I started the science education project called "Advancing Science by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory" about 10 years ago. The project has 4 objectives: i) to create and share a database of good undergraduate science experiments; ii) to provide professional development for science academics in educational theory and practice; iii) to provide links and fora for academics to get together and discuss lab education; and iv) to conduct research into how students learn and engage in the undergraduate lab.