Austin P. Spencer
Optical scientist with more than a decade of research experience in optics and lasers, ultrafast spectroscopy, and material characterization.
Optical scientist with more than a decade of research experience in optics and lasers, ultrafast spectroscopy, and material characterization.
I am a research scientist at Cree-LED. I have published numerous peer-reviewed articles in highly-cited journals and have presented my research at ACS, APS, and Gordon Research conferences. My work has been highlighted in Science and featured on the cover of J. Phys. Chem. C. I have designed and built more than 10 laser spectroscopy instruments in order to study how energy from light relaxes through chemical systems. This research often benefits from my hobbies, which include computer programming and building and repairing electronic equipment.
A central theme of my research has been the application of optics and lasers to solving complex scientific challenges. This includes the development and application of ultrafast multidimensional spectroscopy, which utilizes femtosecond (millionth of a billionth of a second) laser pulses to create “molecular snapshots” that track the flow of energy through molecules, nanomaterials, and proteins as they relax. I am interested in coupled, “messy” problems that require new and innovative solutions to gain deeper insights. While these problems are often the hardest to address, they are also the most impactful. Learn more
PhD in Chemistry, 2014
University of Colorado Boulder
BS in Chemistry, 2009
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A. P. Spencer, W. O. Hutson, E. Harel. Four-Dimensional Coherent Spectroscopy of Complex Molecular Systems in Solution. J. Phys. Chem. C 2018
Collect information, not data.
Gradient-assisted multidimensional electronic–Raman spectroscopy (GAMERS)
Carrier dynamics and interactions in semiconductor quantum dots
