Matthew Hanson, Ph.D.

My higher education began at Creighton University, a Jesuit university much like Le Moyne. There, I successfully pursued a degree in chemistry while also earning minors in mathematics and philosophy. I then went on to successfully pursue my doctorate at the University of Notre Dame. Finally I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at St. Bonaventure University. During my postdoc I had the opportunity to teach several classes in the general chemistry curriculum.

My research interests lie across many areas of pure and applied computational physical chemistry. The first major project I have is a continued collaboration based on my postdoctoral research in energy science. Due to increasing concerns over anthropogenic climate change and human fossil fuel consumption, alternative green fuels like hydrogen have attracted increased research interests. Relatively recently, experimental and computational studies have shown that diatomic hydrogen can be safely stored in the form of inert atoms by exploiting the catalytic activity of metal alloy surfaces. The catalytic sites act as a two-way highway for hydrogen to associate with the metal surface by breaking into inert atoms and for the inert atoms to recombine and leave as reactive hydrogen gas. But controlling these catalytic sites requires the use of functionalized molecules known colloquially as “corks” to prevent premature dissociation of reactive hydrogen gas from the metal surfaces. Determining cork molecules with tunable properties allowing for the controlled release of hydrogen from the surface presents an exciting research opportunity. My current primary research interests are in understanding the fundamentals of the binding interactions of potential functionalized organic corking molecules with metal alloys and finding new ways to characterize these interactions with the surface in terms of experimentally measurable parameters. I am also interested in developing novel methods for simulating vibrational spectra of molecules, which give a sort of unique “fingerprint” of the molecule and its environment. I am also passionate about continuing to improve chemical education by developing novel activities and tools that students can use.