Prof. Adam Hill was born in Washington, D.C. He first became interested in the chemistry of metals through jewelry-making courses he took in high school. As an undergraduate student at Trinity College, he explored a variety of interests: he worked with Prof. Maria Parr to differentiate ancient from modern potshards using scanning electron microscopy and with Prof. David Henderson to trace well water contamination via optical brightener molecules. He also interned at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, McCrone Microscopes and Accessories, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. After graduating with his B.S. in Chemistry in 2008, Adam began his graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, in the Physical Chemistry program. He joined the research group of Charles B. Harris, where he used ultrafast lasers to study the dynamics of transition metal organometallic complexes with UV-pump/IR-probe and 2D-IR techniques.

In 2013, he graduated Berkeley with his Ph.D. and began a position as Assistant Professor of Chemistry at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. After a 2016-2017 sabbatical as a Lab Affiliate in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, he was granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor in 2019.

In 2023, Adam returned to his alma mater and is currently Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Working with his team of undergraduate researchers and collaborators, Adam uses time-dependent spectroscopies to study charge transfer processes with applications in renewable energy.

Background

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Trinity College, 2023–present

Associate Professor of Chemistry, St. Lawrence University, 2019–2023

Lab Affiliate, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2017–2019

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, St. Lawrence University, 2013–2019

Ph.D. Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, 2008–2013

B.S. Chemistry, Trinity College, 2004–2008

Research Interests

Artificial Photosynthesis, Renewable Energy/Renewable Fuels, Charge Transfer, Inorganic Materials, Heterobimetallic Chemistry, Nonlinear Spectroscopy, Vibrational Spectroscopy, Density Functional Theory

Trinity College Courses

CHEM-112: Introductory Chemistry II

CHEM-309: Physical Chemistry I (with Lab)

CHEM-316: Physical Biochemistry

St. Lawrence University Courses

Regularly Taught Courses:

CHEM-103: General Chemistry I

CHEM-104: General Chemistry II

CHEM-303: Inorganic Chemistry

CHEM-389/390: Research for Juniors

CHEM-451: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory

CHEM-489/490: Senior Year Experience (Research)

Additional Courses:

CHEM-104FYS: General Chemistry FYS

CHEM-137: Scientific Discovery

CHEM-342: Biophysical Chemistry

CHEM-347: Independent Study (“Python for Chemists”)

CHEM-352: Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory

CHEM-403: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry

CHEM-4003: Advanced Materials Seminar

FRPG-1015: Ford College (First-Year Program: “Scientific Discovery”)

FRPG-1024/1045: Priest College (First-Year Program: “From Pixels to Picoseconds”)

FRPG-1058: Crary College (First-Year Program: “Science and Speculation”)

FRPG-2071: STEM Apprenticeship (Research for FY Students)

MATH-489/490: Senior Year Experience (Math Honors Project)

Previous Berkeley Courses

CHEM-122/222: Symmetry and Spectroscopy

CHEM-120A: Physical Chemistry (Quantum Mechanics)

CHEM-1A: General Chemistry