Michael Therien
William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of ChemistryOverview
Our research involves the synthesis of compounds, supramolecular assemblies, nano-scale objects, and electronic materials with unusual ground-and excited-state characteristics, and interrogating these structures using state-of-the-art transient optical, spectroscopic, photophysical, and electrochemical methods. Over chemical dimensions that span molecules to materials, we probe experimental and theoretical aspects of charge migration reactions and ultrafast electron transfer processes. Insights into the structure-property relationships of molecular, nanoscale, and macroscopic materials allow us to fabricate polarizable and hyperpolarizable chromophores, structures for molecular electronics applications, optical limiters, and a wide range of other electrooptic and photonic materials that include novel conducting polymers, structures for solar energy conversion, and new platforms for in vivo optical imaging. Other efforts in our laboratory involve the elaborating de novo electron- and energy-transfer proteins, interrogating catalytic redox reactions, designing catalysts for small molecule activation, and developing new tools to manipulate nanoscale structures.
Positions
William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Chemistry in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
2009 Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of Chemistry in the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
2008 Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Faculty Network Member of The Energy Initiative in the University Initiatives & Academic Support Units
2012 University Initiatives & Academic Support Units
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute in the School of Medicine
2008 School of Medicine
Education
B.S. 1982
1982 University of St. Andrews (United Kingdom)
Ph.D. 1987
1987 University of California, San Diego
NIH Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CHEMISTRY
1990 California Institute of Technology
Publications, Grants & Awards
Offices & Contact
Durham, NC
27708 Box 90346
Durham, NC
27708-0346