Prof.Dr. David TANNOR
Chemical Physics Department, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

Controlling Chemical Reactions Using Femtosecond Laser Pulses

Abstract:
Since the invention of the laser in 1960, chemists have dreamed of using the special properties of laser light   to selectively control chemical reactions.  This dream is now beginning to be realized, due to great   experimental strides in producing femtosecond pulses (10-15 s), the ability to shape these pulses both in amplitude and phase, and novel theoretical paradigms for using these shaped pulses to selectively break chemical bonds. The lecture will describe both the theoretical and experimental highlights of this field, as well as recent attempts to apply these same ideas to the challenging problem of laser cooling of molecules.

Research Topics:
Time dependent approach to optical and resonance Raman spectroscopy, ultrafast spectroscopy, coherent control of chemical reactions, quantum and semiclassical theory of chemical reactions, quantum theory of molecular dynamics in solution, laser cooling of molecules.

Personal Details:
   1)   PhD, 1984 UCLA under Eric Heller
   2)   Postdoc, 1984-86, University of Chicago, with Stuart Rice
   3)   Ass. Prof., 1986-89, Illinois Institute of Technology
   4)   Ass., Assoc. Prof, 1989-95, University of Notre Dame (South Bend, lndiana)
   5)   Visiting Prof. 1992-93, Columbia University (New York)
   6)   Assoc. Prof. 1995-2000, Weizmann Institute
   7)   Prof. 2000- , Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot