Two Rice professors honored by American Physical Society

Two Rice professors honored by American Physical Society
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BY JADE BOYD
Rice News Staff

Two Rice University
professors have been elected Fellows of the American Physical
Society (APS). Peter Nordlander, a professor with joint
appointments in the Department of Physics and Astronomy
and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
and Gustavo Scuseria, the Welch Professor of Chemistry,
were elected APS Fellows by the society’s governing
council last month.

Nordlander and
Scuseria are both theorists who specialize in the study
of quantum interactions between particles.

Nordlander’s
research relates to the interaction of atoms, molecules,
ions and electrons with each other and with metallic surfaces.
Nordlander was selected an APS Fellow for his pioneering
contributions to the chemical physics of atom-surface interactions,
including the development of a many-body theoretical description
of charge transfer processes in atom-surface scattering.

Scuseria develops
the scientific and programming tools needed to construct
complex computer models that depict the mechanical, electrical
and structural properties of molecules and solids. Scuseria
was selected an APS Fellow for his original contributions
to the development of fast and accurate electronic structure
methods and their applications to fullerenes and other large
systems.