Dr. Jacob T. Stewart

Professional Information

Tenure: October 2008 - June 2013
Current Position: Professor, Connecticut College
Ph.D., University of Illinois, 2013
B.S., Brigham Young University, 2008

jacobtstewart@gmail.com
CV

Bio

Me and my family at Ben's house for the 2010 Christmas party

I was born in Oregon, but I've lived in eight different states (and two years in the Philippines) in my life. I graduated from high school in Bullhead City, Arizona and then went on to Brigham Young University to study Chemistry. I graduated magna cum laude in 2008 with a B.S. degree and came to the University of Illinois. While at BYU I researched with Adam Woolley on using DNA in nanofabrication schemes.

I am married to the lovely Alysa Smith Stewart and have two wonderful little boys, Benjamin and Levi.

Current Research

I'm interested in using quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) to perform high-resolution spectroscopy on interesting molecules. QCLs are a fairly new kind of laser that is allowing laser spectroscopy techniques to be applied in the mid-infrared, allowing spectroscopists to probe vibrations of molecular species. Currently, I'm working with Brian Brumfield to obtain a high resolution spectrum of buckminsterfullerene (C₆₀) so that an astronomical search can be performed for this highly symmetric and highly stable molecule. I'm also interested in obtaining a high resolution spectrum of the protonated water dimer (H₅O₂⁺) which could better help us understand the fundamentals of proton transport in aqueous solutions.

Papers

6	J. T. Stewart, B. E. Brumfield, B. M. Gibson, and B. J. McCall "Inefficient Vibrational Cooling of C₆₀ in a Supersonic Expansion" ISRN Physical Chemistry (2013), 2013, 675138.
5	J. T. Stewart and B. J. McCall "Rotationally-Resolved Spectroscopy of the Donor Bending Mode of (D₂O)₂" Journal of Physical Chemistry A (2013), 117, 13491–13499.
4	J. T. Stewart and B. J. McCall "Additional Bands of the Ar–D₂O Intramolecular Bending Mode Observed Using a Quantum Cascade Laser" Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy (2012), 282, 34-38.
3	B. E. Brumfield, J. T. Stewart, and B. J. McCall "Extending the Limits of Rotationally Resolved Absorption Spectroscopy: Pyrene" Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2012), 3, 1985-1988.
2	B. E. Brumfield, J. T. Stewart, and B. J. McCall "High-Resolution Spectroscopy of the ν₈ Band of Methylene Bromide Using a Quantum Cascade Laser" Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy (2011), 266, 57-62.
1	B. E. Brumfield, J. T. Stewart, S. L. Widicus Weaver, M. D. Escarra, S. S. Howard, C. F. Gmachl, and B. J. McCall "A Quantum Cascade Laser cw Cavity Ringdown Spectrometer Coupled to a Supersonic Expansion Source" Review of Scientific Instruments (2010), 81, 063102.

Talks

10	J. T. Stewart, B. M. Gibson, and B. J. McCall "Development of an External Cavity Quantum Cascade Laser for High-Resolution Spectroscopy of Molecular Ions" Sixty-Eighth International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2013.
9	B. M. Gibson, J. T. Stewart, and B. J. McCall "Development of a Sheath-Flow Supercritical Fluid Expansion Source for Vaporization of Nonvolatiles at Moderate Temperatures" Sixty-Eighth International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2013.
8	J. T. Stewart and B. J. McCall "Rotationally-Resolved Spectroscopy of the Bending Modes of Deuterated Water Dimer" Sixty-Eighth International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2013.
7	B. M. Gibson, J. T. Stewart, B. E. Brumfield and B. J. McCall "Vibrational Cooling of Large Molecules in Supersonic Expansions: The Case of C₆₀ and Pyrene" Sixty-Seventh International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2012.
6	J. T. Stewart, B. M. Gibson and B. J. McCall "Analysis of the High-Resolution Mid-Infrared Spectrum of Deuterated Water Clusters" Sixty-Seventh International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2012.
5	J. T. Stewart, B. E. Brumfield and B. J. McCall "Rotationally-resolved Infrared Spectroscopy of the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Pyrene (C₁₆H₁₀) Using a Quantum Cascade Laser-based Cavity Ringdown Spectrometer" Sixty-Sixth International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2011.
4	J. T. Stewart, B. E. Brumfield and B. J. McCall "High-resolution Mid-infrared Spectroscopy of Deuterated Water Clusters Using a Quantum Cascade Laser-based Cavity Ringdown Spectrometer" Sixty-Sixth International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2011.
3	J. T. Stewart, B. E. Brumfield, M. D. Escarra, C. F. Gmachl and B. J. McCall "High-Resolution Spectroscopy of the ν₈ Band of Methylene Bromide Using a Quantum Cascade Laser-Based Cavity Ringdown Spectrometer" Sixty-Fifth International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2010.
2	B. E. Brumfield, J. T. Stewart, M. D. Escarra, C. F. Gmachl and B. J. McCall "Astrochemistry and Spectroscopy of C₆₀: The search for the 8.5 μm Vibrational Band" 239th American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, 2010.
1	B. E. Brumfield, J. T. Stewart, M. D. Escarra, C. Gmachl and B. J. McCall "The Influence of Free-Running FP-QCL Frequency Jitter on Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy of C₆₀" Sixty-Fourth International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2009.

Posters

3	J. T. Stewart, B. E. Brumfield and B. J. McCall "Rotationally-Resolved Infrared Spectroscopy of the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Pyrene (C₁₆H₁₀)" Midwest Astrochemistry Meeting, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 2011.
2	B. E. Brumfield, J. T. Stewart and B. J. McCall "Continued Development of a Sensitive Mid-IR Cavity Ring-down Spectrometer Using a Quantum Cascade Laser" Midwest Astrochemistry Meeting, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 2010.
1	B. E. Brumfield, J. T. Stewart and B. J. McCall "Mid Infrared Continuous Wave Cavity Ringdown Spectrometer for Acquisition of the High-Resolution Spectrum of C₆₀" Second Midwest Astrochemistry Meeting, University of Illinois, 2009.

Other Publications

2	J. T. Stewart "High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy of Large Molecules and Water Clusters Using Quantum Cascade Lasers" Ph.D Thesis, University of Illinois, 2013.
1	J. T. Stewart "High-Resolution Gas Phase Infrared Spectroscopy of Water Clusters and Cluster Ions Using Quantum Cascade Lasers" Research Prospectus for Preliminary Examination, University of Illinois, 2011.

Pre-McCall Group Publications

J. T. Stewart, H. A. Becerril, W. Yang, M. G. Larsen, and A. T. Woolley "DNA-templated nanowires as sacrificial materials for creating nanocapillaries" Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering (2008), 7035, 70350H.