Welcome to the
We are a theoretical chemistry research group at Temple University Dept of Chemistry dedicated to developing and applying advanced electronic-structure and dynamical methods to investigate nonadiabatic phenomena in photon- and electron-driven reactions, with the goal of better understanding radiation damage to DNA.
Most chemical processes follow the Born-Oppenheimer (adiabatic) approximation, in which the nuclei move on a single potential energy surface. However there are important processes where this approximation breaks down. These nonadiabatic events play an important role in essential processes in nature such as photosynthesis, vision, charge transfer and photochemistry. Focus areas are: Photophysics and photochemistry of biologically relevant systems, such as DNA/RNA; Theoretical description of conical intersections and excited states; Understanding laser control of molecular dynamics.
We are looking for passionate new PhD students, Postdocs, and Master students to join the team (more info) !
Funded by:
News
March 2026Our work on exploring Active learning strategies for excited states is published in the PCCP. Congratulations! Juan.
March 2026🏆 Prof. Matsika receives the 2025–2026 CST Dean's Distinguished Mentoring Award. Congratulations!
March 2026Our work on micro-solvation of uracil is published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. Congratulations! Kanishka, on your first first-author paper.
January 2026Our work on ultrafast excited state dynamics of cis,cis-1,3-cyclooctadiene is published in the Journal of Computational Chemistry. Congratulations! Trevor, on your first reserach paper. Great job and Keep it up!
January 2026Our work on Partial widths is just published in the Journal of Chemical Physics.
October 2025Congratulations! Prof. Spiridoula Matsika on receiving the 2025 ACS Philadelphia Section Award for her exceptional achievements in chemistry!. This award is given to individuals whose work has not only advanced the discipline but has also enhanced public appreciation of the profession.