Graduate student Yunlong Zhang recently received the Gerhard Closs Student Award of the Inter- American Photochemical Society in an international competition for “brilliant research achievements and outstanding publication record.”

Zhang works in Dean and Chemistry Professor Matt Platz’s lab studying the chemical changes that are initiated when molecules absorb light. This is not work for the slow or faint-hearted. Certain molecules “shatter” into pieces shortly after they absorb radiant energy. The fragmentation process can transpire in less than a picosecond, or 0.000 000 000 001 second—that’s fast. Obtaining reliable data on ultrafast timescales is an extraordinary technical challenge. Dean Platz relates that, “Some of Zhang’s best data has been recorded at three in the morning following days of patient, time-consuming alignment of optical components. The molecular fragments so formed are chemically unstable and understanding their reactivity is key to understanding processes as disparate as photosynthesis and light-induced skin cancer.”

“You have to be quick,” Zhang says, smiling.

This is a relatively new field, yet to be crowded with discovery seekers. Until recent advances in sophisticated instrumentation were realized, progress in this field had been slow to non-existent. “It’s hard to understand what’s going on when all the chemistry happens in only a few picoseconds,” Zhang explains. “This is a new challenge for the 21^st Century; we are just starting to develop some understanding of these timescales and some intuition, as there is not much data from previous investigators to lean on. Our new laser technology allows us to directly observe exotic, fascinating molecules and obtain a complete picture, a picture which in the past was simply unimaginable.”

Although the world of photochemistry is challenging and esoteric to the uninitiated, it has important potential for applications in medicine, industry and in harnessing solar energy.

Zhang, who completed his bachelor’s and master’s degree work in China, will received his Ph.D. spring quarter 2010 and head to MIT for postdoctoral research. There he will continue to expand upon the work begun at Ohio State and use his skills to control the function of macromolecules used in drug delivery. His goal is to use his knowledge to design new, useful techniques for controlled release of drugs (including proteins and genes) in the body.

Zhang’s doctoral advisor was himself a postdoctoral student of Gerhard Closs. This makes the receipt of this award particularly poignant to Dean Platz, who remarked that “Gerhard was a true pioneer in the use of physical methods to study highly-reactive molecules. He was also a very demanding scientist with the highest standards. I am sure that Zhang’s research would have intrigued and pleased Gerhard immensely. Receiving an award named after Zhang’s scientific grandfather is a powerful recognition of both individuals and their scientific vitality.”