Department of Chemistry

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David Beratan

Adjunct Professor (Duke)

Contact

5311 FFSC (Duke)

Duke University 124 Science Drive Box 90354


Durham, NC 27708-0354
919-660-1526

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Research Overview

Dr. Beratan, R.J. Reynolds Professor of Chemistry, is exploring the molecular mechanisms that enable the function of complex biological machines and molecular materials. Recent advances from his theoretical chemistry research group have elucidated electron tunneling and hopping pathways in proteins and DNA, have helped to define the mechanism of energy transduction in nitrogenase, and have established reliable methods to compute the specific rotation angles of chiral natural products. Additional topics of investigation in Beratan's group include the mechanism of transport in conducting atomic force microscope experiments and the inverse design of new materials. Beratan's group is also exploring new approaches to teach undergraduate physical chemistry.