Mertonian's paper makes the cover of Chemical Physics journal

A paper co-authored by Merton alumnus Dr Kasra Amini (2012) has been chosen as the cover story for the 7 March edition of The Journal of Chemical Physics. The paper, based on Kasra's DPhil thesis - for which he won a rare commendation from the University's Mathematical & Physical Life Sciences division - details new techniques for imaging molecules and biochemical reactions.

Kasra describes what this entails:

“Imagine having the ability to peek into the molecular world with the capability of unambiguously identifying and distinguishing molecules that have only small differences in their geometric structure, called isomers. We achieve exactly this by using femtosecond lasers [ultra-fast lasers that emit pulses of one quadrillionth of a second] to Coulomb explode isomers of gaseous molecules and to subsequently correlate the emission direction of each atomic fragment produced. Doing so enables us to retrieve the geometric structure of each isomer in pure and mixed gaseous samples using an imaging technique. This technique opens up the opportunity to image the geometric structure of more complex molecules, with the ultimate aim of recording a 'molecular movie' of photo-induced reactions, for example, in biomolecular switches that play a crucial role in the correct functioning of the human eye."

On having his work featured on the cover of The Journal of Chemical Physics, Kasra said:

“For me personally, this achievement, as well as my DPhil, has provided invaluable opportunities to learn the skills, knowledge, and techniques required to study chemical phenomena using methods developed in the field of physics. This has been a stepping stone to continuing further into academia as an independent postdoctoral research fellow in the group of Professor Jens Biegert to study attosecond and few-femtosecond chemical phenomena using the latest cutting-edge imaging technique of laser-induced electron diffraction at the internationally-renowned Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, Spain.

"I am keen to develop my own research ideas to push the boundaries of Chemistry and Physics, as well as to couple the two fields even further, and to eventually start my own research group.

"I would like to thank Merton College, The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and the University of Oxford for the support that they have given me during my DPhil that made this achievement possible.”