My name is Jake Higgins (they/them). I’m a scientist working at the intersection of physical chemistry and atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics. I'm a postdoctoral fellow in the Ye Group at JILA and CU Boulder using XUV frequency combs for precision measuremtnt hoping to build a solid-state clock using a nuclear transition. I obtained my Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in the Engel Group studying excited state vibronic dynamics in photosynthetic light harvesting proteins.
I believe there is a vast range of unexplored questions between AMO and chemical physics and that the technologies in each of these fields can aid in problem solving for the other. Broadly speaking, I’m interested in developing new spectroscopic methods to analyze and ultimately steer chemical reactivity. I have expertise in two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy and ultraviolet frequency comb spectroscopy, and I’ve studied a variety of systems ranging from photosynthetic proteins to anomalous nuclear transitions. You can read more about my research here.
Here are some questions I'm interested in:
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Can we develop new laser-based technologies to manipulate chemical reactivity in small molecules? Examples include using cavities for nonlinear signal enhancement, coherent control, and reaching the strong coupling regime.
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Can we transfer the incredible state preparation capabilities from AMO physics/quantum optics to higher temperature environments and/or chemically relevant molecules?
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Can we use the high resolution and high sensitivity capabilities of frequency combs to fully characterize and thereby tune molecular excited state dynamics?
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What is the role of vibronic/non-adiabatic couplings in dictating the excited state behavior of molecules? Can we develop new characterization methods to elucidate vibronic structure?
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What are the mechanisms by which proteins catalyze chemical reactivity on the ground state and steer energy flow on excited state surfaces? Can we take inspiration from these mechanisms to inform laser-based control?
Academic Appointments
Education
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
NRC Postdoctoral Fellowship
Advisor: Professor Jun Ye
June 2022 – present
University of Chicago
Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
Advisor: Professor Greg Engel
Thesis: Dynamic Mechanisms of Electronic-Vibrational Coupling in
Photosynthetic Pigment-Protein Complexes
June 2016 – June 2022
Hendrix College
B.A. in Chemical Physics with Honors
Summa Cum Laude
August 2012 – May 2016