Exploring the unknown and finding the unexpected is the challenge and excitement that motivates scientific research.  It is especially rewarding when the work offers the promise of new knowledge, as well as potential applications.  An area in which one can expect to see major advances in the coming decade is research into the behavior of matter of nanoscale dimensions, entities which can display properties unlike those of isolated gas-phase molecules, liquids or solids.  Indeed, the realm of small dimensions often brings with it new phenomena, sometimes attributable to unique structures and bonding, while in other cases due to what is commonly called “quantum confinement.”  The Castleman group is striving to bring new understanding to this challenging and important subject by employing the tools and principles from chemical physics to bridge an understanding and develop applications in a number of areas of modern chemical science.  The tools involve high technology: -- molecular beams, flow reactors, ultrafast lasers, and sophisticated new mass spectrometer techniques -- while the targets range from atmospheric and environmental science to catalysis, microelectronics, cluster assembled materials and even the interrogation of the effects of solvation and hydrogen bonding on the properties of biological molecules.  To continue this overview, click here.