New Fall 2024 Faculty
2024-09-04
Writer(s): Steve Scherer
Lee R. Liu joins us as an assistant professor in physical chemistry. He comes to Purdue after completing a PhD at Harvard University and postdoctoral research at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Liu’s research is aimed at understanding and manipulating structure, dynamics, and interactions of highly symmetric molecules at the limit of individual quantum states to open up new possibilities in quantum science.
He says traditional approaches of microwave and infrared spectroscopy are limited by restrictive selection rules, particularly in molecules with high symmetry.
“We develop non-linear optical techniques with high sensitivity and resolution to access the entire molecular state space for quantum information processing with molecular degrees of freedom, local field sensing in condensed phases, and more,” Liu added.
Away from the lab, Dr. Liu enjoys playing soccer and boxing.
Gabriel Lovinger joins our department as an assistant professor in organic chemistry. He comes to Purdue after earning a PhD at Boston College and postdoctoral research at Harvard University.
Dr. Lovinger’s research is focused on the discovery and mechanistic study of selective catalytic reactions accessing high-value chemical structures. He recently had a paper published in Nature Magazine.
“I am excited to welcome students interested in working at the interface of synthetic chemistry, reaction discovery, selective catalysis, and physical organic mechanistic analysis with the aim of developing and understanding new catalytic reactions of fundamental and practical importance,” he added.
A native of Eugene, Oregon, Dr. Lovinger enjoys outdoor activities like running, stand up paddle boarding, hiking, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and slack lining. He has earned a black belt in Shutokan Karate. And other hobbies include reading speculative fiction and practicing mixology.