Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit

Syracuse University researcher’s NSF award to fund new exhibit at the MOST

Friday, July 10, 2009, By News Staff
Share

Judy Holmes
(315) 443-2201

A Syracuse University scientist will use funding from his prestigious National Science Foundation Early Career Development (CAREER) Award to build a new, interactive exhibit at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology (MOST) in Syracuse. The exhibit will feature natural phenomena occurring on timescales shorter than one second.

researchTimothy Korter, assistant professor of chemistry in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences, was awarded a five-year $640,148 CAREER Award to both create the exhibit and to expand his research on terahertz (THz) radiation-very low-frequency light waves that scientists believe could be used for everything from DNA identification and quality control in the pharmaceutical industry, to identifying illegal drugs and explosives in public places. The CAREER Award recognizes outstanding scientists and engineers who, early in their careers, show exceptional potential for leadership.

The THz radiation Korter studies is generated using a special laser that produces very short pulses of light lasting a femtosecond, or one quadrillionth of a second. Korter’s lab is one of only a handful of university-based research labs in the world exploring the potential of THz radiation for chemical applications.

“THz is invisible to the naked eye,” Korter says. “Because it’s very difficult to produce in the laboratory, THz is a highly underutilized region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The technology that enables us to access this region of the spectrum has only been developed over the last decade.”

THz is located between infrared light and microwave radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum-or left of the “red” side of the visible light range. THz waves can safely pass through almost any kind of material except metal and create detailed images of solid objects without the harmful effects of x-rays. More significantly, THz waves enable scientists to probe the chemical properties of materials based on the vibration of the molecules that make up the substance.

The exhibit for the MOST, to be developed over the next three years, will help visitors better understand THz by answering the question: “What happens in less than a second?” The displays will explore both physical and biological phenomena that occur in units of time from one second down to a femtosecond. The exhibit will also explore how technology has been used to observe events that proceed on timescales faster than the human eye can register.

Korter will also use the CAREER funding to develop and study computer simulations of the way molecules stretch, bend and vibrate, and compare those movements with analyses of real molecules using a THz laser spectrometer.

“Every molecule has a unique chemical signature in the THz region,” Korter says. “That property enables us to detect and identify the chemical composition of a substance. For example, explosives have a unique fingerprint in the THz region, as do drugs.”

Korter’s research will contribute to the development of a national database of THz fingerprints for different kinds of chemical compounds and help scientists better understand how these signatures are generated. “We need to learn more about the origin of these signatures, or spectra,” Korter says. “It’s an area that is not well understood or straightforward.”

In 2006, Korter’s lab was the first in the world to develop a model of the THz fingerprint for HMX, a military-grade explosive, and to understand the chemical origins of its spectral signature. The research was published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry and featured in the Feb. 3, 2006 issue of Science, and the Feb. 6, 2006 issue of Chemical and Engineering News.

Korter earned a bachelor’s degree at Beloit College and a Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to coming to SU in 2003, Korter was a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Expert Available to Discuss DOD Acceptance of Qatari Jet
    Thursday, May 22, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Snapshots From Route 66: One Student’s Journey to Newhouse LA
    Thursday, May 22, 2025, By Keith Kobland
  • Syracuse University 2025-26 Budget to Include Significant Expansion of Student Financial Aid
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By News Staff
  • Engaged Humanities Network Community Showcase Spotlights Collaborative Work
    Wednesday, May 21, 2025, By Dan Bernardi
  • Students Engaged in Research and Assessment
    Tuesday, May 20, 2025, By News Staff

More In Uncategorized

Syracuse Views Summer 2025

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by sending them directly to Syracuse University News at…

Syracuse Views Spring 2025

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by sending them directly to Syracuse University News at…

Syracuse Views Fall 2024

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by sending them directly to Syracuse University News at…

Syracuse Views Summer 2024

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by filling out a submission form or sending it directly…

Syracuse Views Spring 2024

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience by filling out a submission form or sending it…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.