Joseph A. Fournier, assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, won a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation for his project "Direct Interrogation of Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer Reaction Dynamics and Mechanisms with Cryogenic Ion and Ultrafast Vibrational Spectroscopies."
Fournier's research program focuses on characterizing the dynamics and mechanisms of fast chemical reactions. Fournier is particularly interested in charge transport processes that are fundamental to chemistry and biology, but are currently difficult to study using standard methodologies.
By developing novel techniques for studying very fast reactions, Fournier and his group aim to better understand biological processes like photosynthesis, energy storage and transfer and cellular respiration.
