Khaneja devises new pulse probes for details about molecules

For Navin Khaneja, spinning nuclei are like atomic spies. With a little coaxing, they will tell the secrets of the molecules in which they sit.

Khaneja, the Gordon McKay Professor of Electrical Engineering at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, conducts research into the field of control theory, which uses mathematical models to examine the relationship between inputs and outputs of different systems.

His current work focuses on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, a technique that is used by chemists to understand the properties of molecules. As a mathematician and an engineer, Khaneja is working on new dynamical equations and novel ways to control their evolution that can guide the use of spectroscopy to understand molecular structure.

Read the full story in the Harvard Gazette