Irene Waller at the University
of British Columbia in Vancouver uses a high energy laser
to remove electrons from molecules in the gas phase, and then
measures the electrons' kinetic energy. She is the first
scientist in Canada to use this powerful technique, called
negative-ion photoelectron spectroscopy. With it, she plans
to learn more about the electronic structure of transition
metal complexes, and to study the chemistry of compounds that
contain several metals (so-called cluster complexes).
Working with both theory and
practice, Melinda Gugelchuk of the University of
Waterloo in Waterloo, Ont. Studies ways to spped up
chemical reactions. She has a special interest in
biologically important reactions that involve transition
metals. Her calculations are expected to reveal how factors
such as molecular shape, solvent effects, metal coordination,
etc. influence the rates of these reactions.
Computation is also the tool
used by Kathy Darvesh, of Mt. Saint Vincent
University in Halifax. She is starting an ambitious
research program to carry out calculations on reactions
involving heavy metal atoms. She expects that her
calculations will allow her to predict the shapes of
molecules at equilibrium, as well as rates for important
chemical reactions.
