Alicia O. Hernandez-Castillo

Alicia O. Hernandez-Castillo is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Harvey Mudd College. She holds a B.S. from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and a Ph.D. from Purdue University. Her research focuses on understanding intermolecular interactions using rotational spectroscopy, particularly through advanced techniques like chirped-pulse Fourier transform microwave (CP-FTMW) spectroscopy. She leads the MolSpec research group, developing instrumentation and collaborating on projects such as studying succinimides, anesthetic binding, and molecular clusters with water.

Education: B.S., Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; Ph.D., Purdue University. Postdoctoral work at the Fritz Haber Institute, Max Planck Society (Berlin).

Research Interests:

• Rotational spectroscopy of small molecules and clusters
• Molecular interactions in gas phase
• Instrumentation development (CP-FTMW, REMPI-TOF)
• Applications to anesthetic mechanisms and biomolecular studies

Advisees and Lab Members: Mentors undergraduate researchers including Channing Christian, Erika Drisko, Amir Gonzalez Camacho, and others. Current projects involve anesthetic-Xe interactions and microsolvated clusters.

Labs/Teams: Molecular Spectroscopy (MolSpec) Group at Harvey Mudd, collaborating with UC Davis and international partners.