Molecular Spectroscopy

Spectroscopy is how chemists turn light-matter interactions into structural information, and this graduate course is about building that translation layer rigorously — connecting quantized rotational, vibrational, and electronic energy levels to the peaks you actually see in a spectrum. You'll work through problem sets and quizzes on diatomic and polyatomic systems, use group theory to derive selection rules, and present papers extending the ideas to liquids, solids, and photoelectron/X-ray techniques. It assumes you're comfortable with quantum mechanics and physical chemistry at the Atkins level, and it's the foundation for research in molecular structure determination, surface science, and any lab where a spectrometer is the primary instrument.