Ian Carmichael

Ionizing radiation pervades our environment and affects all life on earth. The absorption of this impinging energy produces profound chemical and biochemical transformations in the materials irradiated. Professor Carmichael's research provides a fundamental molecular-level understanding of these radiation effects in matter. The work is performed in the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory, the premier facility for radiation chemical research in the US, supported by the Chemical Sciences Division of Basic Energy Sciences at the US Department of Energy. The NDRL provides not only access to unique experimental tools but also outstanding research opportunities for focused interdisciplinary collaborations. Knowledge gained from this research provides the scientific basis for solving problems ranging from the chemical conversion of solar energy, through nuclear energy production, environmental waste management and remediation, to biomedical radiation therapy. Specific topics currently under active investigation include: Radiation damage in protein crystallography Understanding and mitigating radiation damage during macromolecular crystallography at synchrotrons Electron-driven processes in condensed phases Excited species in water radiolysis; radical formation in irradiated organic liquids Radiation effects in heterogeneous systems and at interfaces Characterizing radiation chemistry at water - ceramic oxide interfaces Spin coupling in biomolecular NMR Probing conformational and chemical changes in carbohydrates

Finley, J.; Kharchilava, G.; Carmichael, I.; Chakraborty, D. and Ptasinska, S. "Dissociation of Gas-Phase Anisole Induced by Low-Energy Electron Interactions: Understanding Patterns of Aromatic Bond Cleavage" 2025 Physica Scripta, 100 (4), 045402. DOI: 10.1088/1402-4896/adb8a9. Yoon, M. K.; Shit, P.; Zhang, W. H.; Meredith, R. J.; Kang, H.; Carmichael, I. and Serianni, A. S. "4h J CHOCH Spin Coupling in a LewisX Trisaccharide as Evidence of Inter-Residue C-HO Hydrogen Bonding in Aqueous Solution" 2024 Journal of the American Chemical Society, in press. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c11948. Zhang, W. H.; Meredith, R. J.; Yoon, M. K.; Carmichael, I. and Serianni, A. S. "Context Effects on Human Milk Oligosaccharide Linkage Conformation and Dynamics Revealed by MA'AT Analysis" 2024 Biochemistry, 63 (21)