Theoretical chemist Todd Martínez develops and applies new methods to predict and explain the motion of atoms in molecules. His research group studies the response of molecules to light (photochemistry) and external forces (mechanochemistry). Photochemistry is critical for human vision, single-molecule spectroscopy, harnessing solar energy, and organic synthesis. Mechanochemistry promotes unusual reactions that could create self-healing materials. His work embodies the quantum mechanical effects governing molecular behavior, chemical bond dynamics, and electronic excited states. Martínez combines interests in theoretical and computational modeling to design new molecules. He received his PhD in chemistry from UCLA in 1994 and later completed postdoctoral studies at UCLA and Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He joined the faculty at the University of Illinois in 1996 and moved to Stanford University in 2009 as the Ehrsam Franklin Professor of Chemistry and Photon Science at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He has received numerous accolades, including a MacArthur Fellowship and election to multiple prestigious academies. His lab's current research aims to make molecular modeling a predictive routine, developing interactive molecular simulations and new techniques to discover unknown chemical reactions using advanced computational methods.
Stanford University • Stanford, California
Ehrsam Franklin Professor of Chemistry and Photon Science.
University of Illinois • Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
Tenured faculty member in the Department of Chemistry.