trueChemistry,College of Natural Science09/07/2023James McCusker receives prestigious Josef Michl American Chemical Society Award in Photochemistry

Michigan State University Research Foundation Professor James K. McCusker is the recipient of the prestigious 2024 Josef Michl American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Photochemistry. This honor recognizes outstanding experimental and theoretical research in the fields of photochemistry and photophysics as applied to organic, inorganic or biological molecules or solids. McCusker will receive a certificate and a prize of $5,000, which will be presented at the ACS Spring 2024 meeting in New Orleans.

Connor YeckMSU chemist James McCusker believes that new approaches to the science of solar energy conversion need to include a focus on abundant, scalable materials that can capture and convert light into useable chemical potential. Toward this end, he and his team of students combine synthesis with ultrafast spectroscopy in order to develop a fundamental understanding of the interplay between the chemical structure and/or composition of a molecule and the mechanism by which that molecule redistributes energy it absorbs in the form of light. The idea is to then use that information as a basis for creating new paradigms for the application of transition metal-based chromophores that incorporate earth-abundant materials to areas ranging from energy conversion to organic synthesis.MSU chemist James McCusker believes that new approaches to the science of solar energy conversion need to include a focus on abundant, scalable materials that can capture and convert light into useable chemical potential. Toward this end, he and his team of students combine synthesis with ultrafast spectroscopy in order to develop a fundamental understanding of the interplay between the chemical structure and/or composition of a molecule and the mechanism by which that molecule redistributes energy it absorbs in the form of light. AwardJosef Michl American Chemical Society Award in Photochemistrychemistry