B.A., 1980, Washington University Ph.D., 1985, Northwestern University Postdoctoral, 1986, Eidgenonische Technische Hochschule (Zurich) Postdoctoral, 1987, Universitat Bayreuth Postdoctoral, 1988, Texas A&M University

Analytical Chemistry

Our research interests are focus on applications for Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) and development of new Raman instrumentation. The field of SERS is rich in applications such as biomedical, environmental, and material science. Much of our work is directed at methods to enhance the adsorption of materials to surfaces. This means developing chemistries that mimic binding sites or mechanisms in nature. For example, we recently developed a method to hybridize RNA with SERS nanoparticles to create a novel viral assay. Until recently Raman spectroscopy has been considered a laboratory technique. However, our goal to develop practical SERS assays requires a new standard for Raman instrumentation. We develop miniaturized Raman instrumentation for assays that is portable, battery powered, and often designed specifically for an application.