Magneto-optical spectroscopy
CD and MCD instrumentation, polarization-artifact suppression, and structure-property relationships in porphyrins and coordination complexes.
View researchInorganic chemistry · molecular spectroscopy
Following excited states through symmetry, time, and polarization.
I am Samuel P. Smith, a Chemistry Ph.D. candidate at the University of New Mexico. I build spectroscopic instruments and software to understand how molecular structure controls optical and magneto-optical behavior.
Ph.D. expected 2027 · Open to postdoctoral opportunities
Research program
Experiment, computation, and code in one workflow.
My work connects instrument development with mechanistic spectroscopy and reusable scientific software.
Ultrafast photochemistry
Femtosecond transient absorption experiments that follow excited-state dynamics to understand photochemical isomerization in chiral molecular systems.
View researchScientific instruments and software
Python tools for instrument control, spectral processing, kinetic fitting, molecular modeling, and reproducible visualization.
View projectsSelected evidence
Research made to be measured, tested, and reused.
Electron-Withdrawing meso-Substituents Turn On Magneto-Optical Activity in Porphyrins
Inorganic Chemistry 2024, 63, 3630–3636.
Read the paper
Near-UV CD/MCD
Optical layout and differential detection
Femtosecond pump-probe
Acquisition, normalization, and kinetic analysis
DFT and TDDFT
ORCA, Gaussian, and spectral assignment
Open scientific software
Python tools used across the research group