Prof. Christopher Abelt

Dr. Christopher Abelt is a Professor of Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry, The College of William and Mary. He graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry and Mathematics from University of Wisconsin in 1978 and obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of California in 1983. He specializes in physical organic chemistry, organic photochemistry, fluorescence and sensors. His research focuses on structure, as it affects the fluorescence behavior of organic molecules. In particular, he is looking at a class of compounds that undergo charge transfer in the excited state and are sensitive to local polarity. Some also respond strongly to the presence of local H-bonding. By systematically varying the molecular architecture of these molecules, he hopes to understand their photophysical behavior with the goal of engineering reliable microsensors. He is a Member of the American Chemical Society, Division of Organic Chemistry, and CUR. He is also a reviewer for many internationally recognized journals including the Journal of Organic Chemistry, Chemical Communications, Chemical Physics Letters, Journal of Physical Chemistry A, New Journal of Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Tetrahedron and Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical.