Benjamin J. McCall

For bringing a unique perspective to combining laboratory work with observational astronomy. McCall and his students will make a group of exotic molecules in the laboratory to measure its unique electromagnetic fingerprint. With knowledge of these fingerprints, McCall and other scientists then look for evidence of the same molecules throughout the universe. The hope is that measuring the abundances of these molecules in a variety of environments can help answer larger questions about the chemical processes occurring in space. Besides his work in research, McCall is working to introduce the field of "astrochemistry" to the next generation of young scientists.