Stephen Kukolich

Stephen Kukolich, (born February 3, 1940) is an experimental physical chemist in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at the University of Arizona. His primary research is high-resolution Rotational spectroscopy to determine molecular structures and electronic properties of molecules and molecular complexes. The molecular spectroscopy research was published in 225 papers which were mentioned in 4300 citations (ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephen-Kukolich/stats ) and discussed in a few. Details of citations are given by Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&hl=en&user=MsLIzCUAAAAJ&gmla=AJsN-F7H-DVKJei8yifUbfaSb4WsIHu69r3kTAb6Vyl-PFQ5Hwv-jxfixGjKzsVl85aTm66W2R18LHdT2j8NSD54wmUg-LV0uBSiDaH6FJVH5Z04cued7Tf1gcOUlIh6-OK8JipPjDH and Academictree. https://academictree.org/chemistry/publications.php?pid=83090 The research was funded by the NSF 11 times beginning in 1970. https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/simpleSearchResult?queryText=%22kukolich%22&ActiveAwards=true&ExpiredAwards=true 
== Education and career ==
He entered MIT in 1958 and graduated in Physics in 1962. He continued at MIT, graduating with a Sc.D. in Physics in 1966. The thesis project was on accurate measurements of ammonia hyperfine structure with a high-resolution two-cavity maser spectrometer."Measurements of Ammonia Hyperfine Structure with a Two-Cavity Maser," S. G. Kukolich, Phys. Rev. 156, 83 (1967) The two-cavity molecular beam maser was developed at MIT."Measurement of Hyperfine Structure of the J=3, K=2 Inversion Line of N14H3," S. G. Kukolich, Phys. Rev. 138, A 1322 (1965) using the method of separated oscillating fields developed by Norman Ramsey. After 2 years as an instructor in Physics, the following year was spent collaborating with Willis H. Flygare on molecular Zeeman effect measurements."Molecular g-Values, Magnetic Susceptibility Anisotropies, Second Moment of the Charge Distribution and Molecular Quadrupole Moments in Formic Acid," S. G. Kukolich and W. H. Flygare, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 91, 2433 (1969) He returned to MIT, in the Chemistry Department, as assistant professor in 1969. He moved to the University of Arizona, Chemistry Department in 1974 and became a full professor in 1979.
== Research == 
Early research yielded measurements of ammonia inversion frequencies and hyperfine structure with high accuracy and precision using the two-cavity maser spectrometer"Measurements of the 3-2 Inversion Frequency and Frequency Stability of a Two-Cavity Ammonia Maser," S. G. Kukolich, Proc. IEEE 56, 124 (1968). developed at MIT. The high resolution allowed measurements of deuterium quadrupole coupling for many small molecules"Deuterium Quadrupole Coupling in the Gas Phase," S.G. Kukolich, Mol. Phys. 29, 249 (1975).. Most of the published microwave structures for transition metal complexes were funded by the NSF and measured by his microwave group at the University of Arizona. A very large cavity Balle-Flygare spectrometer"Design, Construction and Testing of a Large-Cavity, 1-10 GHz Flygare-Balle Spectrometer,” Stephen G. Kukolich and Laszlo C. Sarkozy, Rev. Sci, Instrum., 82(9), DOI: 094103/1-094103/14 (2011) was constructed at the University of Arizona, with support from the NSF . The structures for many hydrogen-bonded and other weakly-bound complexes were determined from the microwave spectra. It was shown that some hydrogen-bonded complexes are not simply static structures by measuring the concerted proton tunneling frequency for the formic acid - propiolic acid complex in a pulsed-beam spectrometerCommunications: “Evidence for proton tunneling from the microwave spectrum of the formic acid – propiolic acid dimer.” Adam M. Daly, P. R. Bunker and Stephen G. Kukolich, J. Chem. Phys. 132(20), DOI: 201101/1-201101/3, (2010).“Microwave measurements of proton tunneling and structural parameters for the propiolic acid – formic acid dimer,” Adam M. Daly, Kevin O. Douglass, Laszlo C. Sarkozy, Justin L. Neill, Matt T. Muckle, Daniel P. Zaleski, Brooks H. Pate and Stephen G. Kukolich, J Chem. Phys., 135(15), DOI: 154304/1-154304/12 (2011)
The doubly hydrogen bonded complexes are of interest because of the similarity to the A-T base-pairs of DNA.
Category:1940 births
Category:People from Appleton, Wisconsin
Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni