James D. Gaynor, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator | Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Pronouns: he / him / his
james.gaynor [at] northwestern.edu
About
James hails from the Pacific Northwest, having grown up in Washington state. He graduated from the University of Portland in 2014 where he realized his passion for physical chemistry and working with lasers and optics. As an undergraduate researcher at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, James was exposed to the excitement of working within an international scientific community at the intersection of molecular photochemistry, material properties, and light-matter interactions. James worked as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow in the group of Professor Munira Khalil at the University of Washington where he developed and used spectrally broadband light sources in multidimensional electronic-vibrational spectroscopy to understand the role of vibronic couplings in excited state processes. After completing his Ph.D. in 2019, he joined the Leone and Neumark Laboratories at U.C. Berkeley as an Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow. At Berkeley, James used tabletop attosecond four-wave mixing spectroscopy to study electronic coherences in gas phase atoms and molecules; his research also opened up a new research field of attosecond four-wave mixing in solid state materials. He started his independent career at Northwestern’s Department of Chemistry in June 2023.
James’ work and passion for teaching has been recognized by many awards and honors, such as the American Chemical Society’s Young Investigator Award (Physical Division), the American Physical Society’s Carl E. Anderson Dissertation Award (Division of Laser Science), the Optical Society of America’s Emil Wolf Award, the University of Washington’s Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, and the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.
Favorites
Extra-curricular Activities: Spending time with family, watching soccer (c’mon Liverpool F.C.!), cycling, camping / hiking, tango, reading, traveling Scientist(s): J. Robert Oppenheimer and Gilbert N. Lewis Food / Drink: cafe espresso (dark roast) / a good almond croissant