Kizhakeyil Lukose Sebastian is a professor of chemistry at the department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry of Indian Institute of Technology, Palakkad, India. Prior to becoming a professor at IIT Palakkad, he was a professor of chemistry at the department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, for about 20 years.
He did his Bachelor of Science (special degree) from the University of Kerala and his Master of Science from the University of Calicut. He stood first in the university when he completed his undergraduate and post graduate studies. In 1976 he received his PhD in chemistry from IISc. [1]
After completing his PhD Prof. Sebastian joined the Calicut University as Reader and Lecturer. He started working as a Professor in the Cochin University of Science and Technology in 1984. He has been Professor of Physical and Inorganic Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science ever since 1996. [1]
He is one of the leading theoretical chemists of India working on the applications of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics in chemistry and chemical physics. The topics studied include molecular devices, nanotechnology and surfaces, molecular ratchets, equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics of polymers, biophysical chemistry and chemical dynamics. Prof. Sebastian has authored more than 110 papers on various aspects of theoretical chemistry, chemical physics and polymer physics.
He is also a member of the editorial boards of several reputed scientific journals published by institutions such as the Indian Academy of Sciences. [1]
Apart from his research work he also teaches at various levels, including undergraduate students.
His research topics include path integral representation of Fractional Brownian motion, ring closing opening dynamics in polymers, first passage time calculation in phase space, energy transfer between molecule and graphene, quantum coherence etc. He introduced what is known as the kink mechanism for the translocation of long chain molecule through a nano-pore. In other words, Kramers problem for the long chain molecule. He also developed the time dependent version of the coupled cluster theory (CCT) and applied to a problem of ion neutralization scattered from a surface of a metal. He has also proposed an analytical model to elucidate the mechanism of protein transport across the nuclear pore complex. In recent years he got interested in coherences in photosystems and quantum biology in general. Along with his PhD student, he proposed an almost analytical method to analyze the time evolution of the FMO complex. More recently he has started working on Levy flights which involves long jumps and on the dynamics of a tracer in a heterogeneous medium, where diffusivity is a fluctuating quantity.
The following outline acts as an overview of and topical guide to chemistry:
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics, analytical dynamics and chemical equilibria.
Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences".
Quantum chemistry, also called molecular quantum mechanics, is a branch of physical chemistry focused on the application of quantum mechanics to chemical systems, particularly towards the quantum-mechanical calculation of electronic contributions to physical and chemical properties of molecules, materials, and solutions at the atomic level. These calculations include systematically applied approximations intended to make calculations computationally feasible while still capturing as much information about important contributions to the computed wave functions as well as to observable properties such as structures, spectra, and thermodynamic properties. Quantum chemistry is also concerned with the computation of quantum effects on molecular dynamics and chemical kinetics.
Theoretical chemistry is the branch of chemistry which develops theoretical generalizations that are part of the theoretical arsenal of modern chemistry: for example, the concepts of chemical bonding, chemical reaction, valence, the surface of potential energy, molecular orbitals, orbital interactions, and molecule activation.
Chemical physics is a branch of physics that studies chemical processes from a physical point of view. It focuses on understanding the physical properties and behavior of chemical systems, using principles from both physics and chemistry. This field investigates physicochemical phenomena using techniques from atomic and molecular physics and condensed matter physics.
Henry Frederick "Fritz" Schaefer III is an American computational, physical, and theoretical chemist.
Martin Karplus is an Austrian and American theoretical chemist. He is the Director of the Biophysical Chemistry Laboratory, a joint laboratory between the French National Center for Scientific Research and the University of Strasbourg, France. He is also the Theodore William Richards Professor of Chemistry, emeritus at Harvard University. Karplus received the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, together with Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel, for "the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems".
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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to natural science:
Eric R. Bittner is a theoretical chemist, physicist, and distinguished professor of chemical physics at the University of Houston.
Oleg V. Prezhdo is a Ukrainian–American physical chemist whose research focuses on non-adiabatic molecular dynamics and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). His research interests range from fundamental aspects of semi-classical and quantum-classical physics to excitation dynamics in condensed matter and biological systems. His research group focuses on the development of new theoretical models and computational tools aimed at understanding chemical reactivity and energy transfer at a molecular level in complex condensed phase environment. Since 2014, he is a professor of chemistry and of physics & astronomy at the University of Southern California.
Vincenzo Aquilanti is an Italian chemist, emeritus professor at the University of Perugia.
Bidyendu Mohan Deb is an Indian theoretical chemist, chemical physicist and a professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata (IISER). he is known for his studies in theoretical chemistry and chemical physics. He is an elected fellow of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, The World Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1981, for his contributions to chemical sciences.
Bretislav Friedrich is a Research Group leader at the Department of Molecular Physics, Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft and Honorarprofessor at the Technische Universität in Berlin, Germany. He is globally recognized for his pioneering research surrounding interaction of molecules with and in electric, magnetic, and optical fields as well as on cold molecules. He was admitted to the Learned Society of the Czech Republic in 2011.
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