معرفی
Matthew D. Sonntag is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Albright College. He holds a B.A. from Coe College (2008) and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Northwestern University (2013), followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern. His research focuses on Raman spectroscopy to study material properties, including glassy substances and single-molecule dynamics. He has developed physical chemistry laboratories and collaborates with undergraduates, emphasizing hands-on research. Dr. Sonntag has received the Class of ’49 Annadora Vesper Shirk Award for Faculty Scholarship and the Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureship. He teaches courses like Quantum Mechanics and Spectroscopy, and has authored/co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed publications. His lab explores glass structure reactivity and surface-enhanced Raman techniques. He has secured grants including NSF awards for undergraduate STEM scholarships and instrumentation.
- Education: B.A., Coe College (2008); Ph.D., Northwestern University (2013); Postdoctoral Fellowship, Northwestern University (2013-2014)
- Grants: Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureship ($18,500), NSF ACES Scholarship Program ($627,322), NSF MRI Grant for TEM acquisition
Research Interests: Raman spectroscopy’s role in understanding material properties and molecular dynamics. Key projects include glassy material composition effects and single-molecule SERS dynamics. Collaborative work emphasizes undergraduate involvement, with publications in Journal of Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and ACS Nano.
Awards: Class of ’49 Shirk Award (2018), Phi Beta Kappa (2008), Phi Kappa Phi (2008).
Lab & Teaching: The Sonntag Lab engages undergraduates in synthesizing borate/silicate glasses and probing molecular dynamics. Courses taught include Quantum Mechanics, Physical Chemistry, and Mathematics for Chemistry/Physics. He has advised numerous students, many of whom present at national ACS meetings.
