Title: Influence of topology, architecture, and environment on spin polarization transfer: implications for quantum information science

Abstract: This presentation will feature mostly unpublished results from steady-state and time resolved (CW) electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy experiments on stable and transient radicals in unusual environments. The talk will emphasize the breadth of different structures that can be investigated, which include microbubbles, nanocrystals, metal organic frameworks, and vesicles, to learn about structural and physical properties of these systems. Significant attention will be paid to new results on spin probes studies of structured (non-Newtonian) fluids constructed from AerosilTM nanoparticles in organic solvents, seeking to understand the influence of solventsolvent, solvent-Aerosil, and Aerosil-Aerosil interactions as a function of Aerosil loading, solvent, and temperature. Spin probe measurements in microbubbles reveal orientation effects in the outer layer of these structures for the first time. In nanocrystals we show strong evidence for the presence of radical pair triplet states. The vesicle experiments suggest new directions for small molecule topology in supramolecular systems. New experiments on spin polarization transfer from photoexcited triplet states to stable nitroxide monoradicals and biradicals as potential qubits for quantum information science applications will also be described.

Short Biography:  Malcolm D. E. Forbes was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1960. He was raised mostly in western Massachusetts, but spent his high school years in Edinburgh, Scotland. After two years of study at American International College in Springfield, MA, Malcolm completed his university training at the University of Illinois at Chicago, receiving a double major B.S. degree in Chemistry and Mathematics in 1983. He undertook doctoral studies at the University of Chicago, where he worked with the late Gerhard L. Closs on the study of unstable spin-polarized
biradicals using time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. In 1988, his accomplishments in this area were recognized with the Bernard Smaller Prize for Research in Magnetic Resonance. After receiving his Ph.D. degree, Malcolm was awarded a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. From 1988 to 1990 he worked at the California Institute of Technology with Nathan S. Lewis on interfacial charge transfer kinetics at silicon/liquid junctions.

In July 1990, Malcolm joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was promoted to Professor of Chemistry in 1999. From 2011–2014 he served as a Program Officer in the Chemistry Division of the U. S. National Science Foundation in Arlington, VA. In July 2015, Malcolm accepted the position of Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Center for Photochemical Sciences at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He served as Director from 2015 to 2024.

Malcolm has received several awards and honors for his research: a National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award (1993–1998), three Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Foreign Fellowships (1997, 1999 and 2024), the 2000 Sir Harold Thomson Award from Elsevier, and two J. W. Fulbright Senior Scholar Awards (2007–2008 and 2026-2027). Malcolm has co-Chaired three Gordon Research Conferences: Electron Donor–Acceptor Interactions in 2008, Photochemistry in 2015, and Physical Organic Chemistry in 2025. He is a past President of the Inter-American Photochemical Society (2014–2016).

Malcolm’s research interests span a wide area of physical organic chemistry. His primary focus is studying free radical structure, dynamics and reactivity using a variety of magnetic resonance techniques. Current projects include the fundamentals of ‘‘spin chemistry,’’ proton-coupled electron transfer reactions, singlet oxygen topology in heterogeneous media, drying and curing processes in thin films and coatings, and the photodegradation and chain dynamics of polymers. Malcolm has published more than 150 papers and book chapters and has presented more than 200 invited lectures.

Malcolm is married to Natalia Lebedeva, a Ph.D chemist working in industry. With their three sons Matt, Cameron, and Elliot, they enjoy swimming, ice skating, traveling, and home improvement projects.
 

See more of Dr. Forbes's research on his website: https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/chemistry/faculty/malcolm-forbes.html