Kevin J. Kubarych

Kevin J. Kubarych
Kevin J. Kubarych
Full Professor


Room
ARC 511

Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences

Biography

Prof. Kubarych is a physical chemist who has spent his scientific career developing and applying ultrafast laser spectroscopy to understand fundamental chemical dynamics in a wide array of contexts. During his PhD research at the University of Toronto, he helped to pioneer the new field of multidimensional optical spectroscopy, which uses UV, visible and infrared analogues of advanced NMR methods. He innovated new methods of 2D-IR during his postdoctoral research at Ecole Polytechnique in France, and began his independent career at the University of Michigan in 2005. During his 19 years in Michigan, Prof. Kubarych applied 2D-IR to important chemical problems including photo- and electrocatalysis, solvation dynamics, the glass transition, protein hydration, biomacromolecular crowding, and quantum dynamics. His group combines ultrafast spectroscopy and chemical synthesis, with classical and quantum computation to arrive at molecular-level interpretations of chemical dynamics.

In 2024, Prof. Kubarych was recruited to University of Ottawa to establish the first ultrafast 2D-IR spectroscopy laboratory in Canada. His group plans to apply this powerful methodology broadly throughout the chemical space, in areas such as photoredox catalysis, electrocatalysis, polaritonic chemistry, and beyond. The new laboratory will focus on developing a robust, user-friendly spectrometer that will be central to collaborations across the uOttawa campus and elsewhere.

Selected Publications

  • S. Wiley, C. Griffith, P. Eckert, A.P. Mueller, R. Nogle, S.D. Simpson, M. Köpke, M. Can, R. Sarangi, K. Kubarych, S. W. Ragsdale, “An alcove at the acetyl-CoA synthase nickel active site is required for productive substrate CO binding and anaerobic carbon fixation” J. Biol. Chem. 300 (2024) 107503.
  • R. Duan, J.N. Mastron, Y. Song, K.J. Kubarych, “Isolating Polaritonic 2D-IR Transmission Spectra, “ J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 12 (2021) 11406-11414.
  • L.M. Kiefer, L.B. Michocki, K.J. Kubarych, “Transmission Mode 2D-IR Spectroelectrochemistry of In Situ Electrocatalytic Intermediates,” J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 12 (2020) 3712-3717.
  • L. M. Kiefer, K. J. Kubarych, “Two-Dimensional Infrared Spectroscopy of Coordination Complexes: From Solvent Dynamics to Photocatalysis,” Coord. Chem. Rev. 372 (2018) 153-176.
  • J. T. King, E. J. Arthur, C. L. Brooks, K. J. Kubarych, “Crowding induced collective hydration of biological macromolecules over extended distances,” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 136 (2014) 188-194.

Research interests

  • Physical chemistry/chemical physics and theory
  • Ultrafast spectroscopy
  • Chemical reaction dynamics
  • Photonics
  • Catalysis