Prof. Artem E. Masunov

Artëm E. Masunov studied chemistry at Moscow State University, where he received his B.S./M.S. degree in 1988. He earned his Ph.D. in 2000 from the The Graduate School, City University of New York. After two years as postdoc at City College of New York and three years at Los Alamos National Laboratory, he joined the faculty at University of Central Florida in 2005, where he presently is an Associate Professor. Dr. Masunov’s group uses Density Functional Theory and Molecular Dynamics approaches for computational materials design and crystal engineering, predictions of nonlinear optical properties, photophysics and photochemistry, and studies in chemical kinetics of combustion.

Aggregation determines organization of many organic materials, and Molecular Dynamics simulations of self-assembly is a promising tool for computational materials engineering. Dr. Masunov discovered counterintuitive blue shift in two-photon absorption spectra of J-aggregates, and effect of polymorphism on exciton localization in conducting polymers. Masunov’s group also investigated the role of aggregation inhibitors and mutations on formation and disassembly of amyloid peptide aggregates, determined the size of the critical nucleus, and established the role of dynamic cooperative effects during the amyloid growth. More recently, Dr. Masunov turned his attention to prediction of structure and physical properties of organic crystals.

Dr. Masunov is a 2010 Wiley Young Investigator, and 2008 HP Outstanding Junior Faculty in Computational Chemistry section of the American Chemical Society. His group has attracted funding from the NSF, DOE, NASA, and DOD. During his career, Masunov supervised and graduated seven Ph.D. and five M.S. students. To date, he published 145 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He also serves on the editorial board for a Hindawi’s Journal of Spectroscopy.