SCIENCE AT THE SHINE DOME canberra 7 - 9 may 2008
Awards and admission of new Fellows
Thursday, 8 May 2008
David Craig Medal
Professor Leo Radom, FAA
ARC Centre of Excellence in Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology and School of Chemistry, University of Sydney
Leo Radom was educated at the University of Sydney, graduating with First Class Honours and the University Medal, and subsequently a PhD. He spent three and a half years as a postdoctoral researcher at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, before returning to Australia to the Research School of Chemistry of The Australian National University. His main research interests are in the area of computational quantum chemistry. He is a co-author of the classic monograph in the field and about 460 research papers. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. He is currently the president of the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists, the main international professional organisation in this field.
Chemistry without test-tubes: Using quantum mechanics and computers
Chemistry is traditionally an experimental science. However, advances in computer technology and the use of quantum mechanics has allowed the computer to provide a powerful complement to experimentation in the study of chemical problems. This approach to chemistry uses no experimental information, other than the values of fundamental constants such as the speed of light. It is based purely on the laws of quantum mechanics. Why would we wish to do chemistry in the computer? What chemical properties can we study? I have been particularly interested in the structures of molecules and the energies and pathways of their reactions. In this presentation I will give examples of the ways that computer chemistry is used, including designing molecules containing planar (instead of tetrahedral) carbon, understanding why enzymes make certain reactions go faster, and designing zeolites that might efficiently transform carbon dioxide (a waste material) to methanol (a valuable feedstock).
