David Chatfield – Molecular dynamics simulation of biological macromolecules, particularly proteins. Recent and continued application to HIV-1 protease, an enzyme necessary for reproduction of the HIV-1 virus, in order to elucidate the mechanism of catalysis. Development of simulation methods incorporating hybrid quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical potentials and their application to the study of enzyme mechanism, especially to HIV-1 protease and to other aspartic proteases.

Jeffrey Joens - Electronic spectra of small molecules; both the experimental measurement and theoretical modeling of electronic absorption spectra of small molecules with application to atmospheric chemistry and gas and solution phase photochemistry. Thermochemical properties of molecular complexes; development of a new experimental technique for investigating weakly bound molecular complexes, which is now being used to investigate such complexes in solution and in the gas phase. Applications include development of acid/base scales for Lewis donor and acceptor molecules, and organic and inorganic reactions of complexes.