About SBU

Godbout, Jerry T.

Name:
Jerry Godbout
Jerry T. Godbout, Ph.D.

Academic School:
School of Arts and Sciences

Academic Department:
Chemistry

Titles/Responsibilities:
  • Assistant Professor, Chemistry
  • Department Chair

Contact Information:
Office Phone: (716) 375-2649
E-mail: jtgodbou@sbu.edu 

Office Location/Hours:
De La Roche 312 C

Courses Taught:

Academic Degrees:
  • Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, Michigan State University.
  • B.S. in Chemistry with a Minor in Physics, University of Florida.

Professional Background:
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, St. Bonaventure University: 2001 – present.
  • Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame: 1999 – 2001.
  • Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Hendrix College: 1998 – 1999.
  • Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Rochester: 1996 – 1998.

Current Research Interests/Projects:

My research interests, admittedly unfocused at this time, can be grouped under the loose description of using spectroscopic techniques to determine structure at the molecular level.  Simply put, I like to shine light on things to see what they look like.  Most of my expertise lies in the field of vibrational spectroscopy, in which uses light (infrared, visible or ultraviolet) to determine the geometry and strength of the bonds in a molecule.  Through generous alumni donations, the Chemistry Department has recently acquired a research-grade infrared spectrometer that will allow the pursuit of many interesting (to me anyway) projects, which include:

 

  • structural studies of unstable species in low-temperature inert matrices;
  • studies of intramolecular interactions in small cluster species;
  • observation of the transition from molecular to bulk behavior in small cluster species.

Along with the spectroscopic studies listed above, I am also interested in developing the computational techniques that will be needed to interpret the resulting complex spectroscopic data.  Many of these techniques will utilize previously developed models and software, and some will require the development of novel models and accompanying software.  A distributed computing resource (Beowulf cluster), recently developed in a joint effort with the SBU Physics Department, will support these efforts.