Image: Congratulations to Dr. Susanne Ullrich, Professor in Department of Physics and Astronomy for 2022 Creative Research Medal The University established the Creative Research Medals in 1980 to recognize a distinct and exceptional research or creative project, performed by a mid-career faculty member, with extraordinary impact and significance to the field of study. Dr. Susanne Ullrich is one of the 5 faculty members who is recognized with Creative Research Medal this year along with Douda Bensasson, Jamie Kreiner, Douglas Menke, Gregory Strauss. Susanne Ullrich, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is advancing applications of time-resolved ultrafast laser spectroscopy to molecular photochemistry. Ullrich and her team study how light, made of particles called photons, interacts with molecules and how these interactions play critical roles. To explore what happens after a molecule absorbs a photon requires observing molecular processes that occur on time scales of a few quadrillionths of a second in real time. She uses ultrashort bursts of laser light to take a series of “snapshots” of photoinduced molecular behavior. Linking them into “movies,” she can elucidate the underlying mechanisms. She has conducted experiments on the ability of the building blocks of life to retain their integrity under exposure from the sun’s UV light and how the light-absorbing parts of the skin pigment eumelanin protect DNA. Type of News/Audience: News
