Assistant Professor David W. McCamant is the recipient of a 2009 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. The Experimental Physical Chemistry Program will support Prof. McCamant's research, which focuses on ultrafast vibrational dynamics probed by femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy, over the next five years.

In this project, the McCamant group will develop femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) to study ultrafast processes in photochemistry and photobiology. The ultrafast dynamics of nucleic acids and short DNA oligomers will be investigated, as well as vibrational anharmonicities that drive vibrational relaxation in simple solvent models. Graduate students, postdoctoral scientists and undergraduate researchers will be trained in a wide variety of experimental and theoretical techniques throughout the funding period.

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide program that offers the NSF's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such support is expected to help build a firm foundation for a lifetime of faculty leadership in integrating education and research.