Eric Bittner recognized for research and scholarship
Dr. Eric Bittner, associate professor of chemistry, received the Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award for the associate professor rank. Dr. Bittner was a recipient TLC2 Innovation Funding for his research into quantum dynamics in molecular electronic devices. He is an active member of the international community of theoretical chemistry researchers and received a 2007 Guggenheim Fellowship.
Electronic materials made of plastic organic polymers may seem the stuff of science fiction; however, many polymers are semiconducting and one can use both their chemical and physical properties to make devices ranging from flexible displays to plastic logic circuits. Dr. Bittner’s work in this area has focused upon how vibronic interactions tune and couple the relevant intra- and inter-molecular electronic states that determine many of the device characteristics of these systems.
Dr. Bittner focuses on one particular class of these materials, namely bulk heterjunctions, that are used in both light-emission and light-harvesting applications. Using state-of-the-art quantum chemical and quantum dynamical methods his research shows that this is due to a phonon-coupled ultrafast recycling of charge-separated exciplex states pinned to at the interface to form secondary excitons. Bittner is also interested in the possible role of triplets, the role of stacking morphology, and dark exciplexes.
His nomination form for the for the UH Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award states that Bittner "distinguished himself nationally and internationally as an insightful and creative scientist...emerg(ing) as a leader and innovator in the field of theoretical chemistry." His nominator wrote Bittner "has a documented record of outstanding research accomplishments...and is clearly one of the most innovative and well-regarded young theoretical chemists in the world today."
A colleague from Yale University who has followed Bittner's work with great interest stated Bittner is "overflowing with new ideas and has the theoretical ability and insight to carry them to fruition."
The Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award is given to faculty members who have achieved a substantial record of outstanding research, scholarship or creative activities in their field. The award carries a $5,000 stipend and a plaque.
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