Name: Chong Fang

Area of Study / Position Title: Physical Chemistry, Assistant Professor

Why chemistry? (What about it initially interested you?): Understanding how everything works always fascinates me. Physical chemistry and chemical physics provide myriad powerful tools to reveal the mechanism during the transformation between molecular species.

Research focus (in non-science terms) or basic job duties? The main theme of my research group is to investigate the structural dynamics basis of functions performed by all kinds of molecules in biological systems and novel materials. Ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy enables us to capture vivid molecular “movies” of chemistry in action with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions.

One thing you truly love about your job? Our research is at the forefront of the field and the experimental protocol is still being developed. That gives us a sense of urgency and pride in bringing new ideas into our experiments, grasping unexpected discoveries and making sense of them. It is truly exciting to have the freedom to design, explore, execute, disseminate, revise, improve, and make an impact on the world surrounding us.

One interesting/strange factoid about yourself. I like seafood. I want to cook more and try different flavors in the future.