Photo Credit: Derek Abbott and Graeme Wood

We take this moment to pause and reflect on the career and impact of our colleague, Prof. Charles Albert Schmuttenmaer, who passed away at his home in New Haven, CT on July 26, 2020. But no one ever called him that. Charlie was born in Oak Park, IL, just outside of Chicago, and began his studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign where he earned a B.S. in Chemistry in 1985. While at UIUC, Charlie performed research with Prof. Herbert S. Gutowsky, studying the rotational spectra of gas-phase clusters composed of argon and HF.(1) He then undertook Ph.D. studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked with Prof. Richard J. Saykally on the development and implementation of far-infrared spectroscopy. Charlie was involved in the development of the Berkeley tunable far-infrared spectrometer(2) and studied gas-phase systems ranging from jet-cooled carbon clusters(3) to the Ar–NH₃ complex.(4) It was in that era that Charlie became fascinated with “terahertz” (THz) spectroscopy, though he always made the clear distinction that “THz spectroscopy” referred to pulsed far-infrared spectroscopy, in contrast with the high-resolution, continuous-wave schemes developed at Berkeley. After completing his Ph.D. studies, he carried out postdoctoral work at the University of Rochester, where he first performed ultrafast spectroscopy, working with Prof. R. J. Dwayne Miller. Using time-resolved, two-photon photoemission spectroscopy, he ventured into the field of condensed matter, studying hot electron relaxation dynamics at metal(5) and semiconductor(6) surfaces. As with any postdoctoral scholar seeking to secure a professorship, Charlie was faced with developing his own niche in science. A critical turning point in his scientific trajectory occurred at a conference in which he was introduced to the possibility of generating short pulses of far-infrared radiation using the same ultrafast laser systems that he was using at Rochester. At this point, spectroscopy in the THz region of the electromagnetic spectrum (0.1–10 THz = 3–333 cm^–1), often referred to as the “THz gap”, was challenging because this radiation is difficult to generate and detect. Armed with a new way to explore this frequency region using ultrafast methods, Charlie set a course to “mine the gap” and never looked back. In 1994, Charlie joined the faculty at Yale University, where he built his research program on the development and applications of THz spectroscopy in the chemical sciences. When presented with a new material or scientific problem, Charlie and his group operated with the mantra, “Let’s give it a shot and see if it works.” On this note, Charlie was an unapologetic advocate for serendipitous discovery in science and always encouraged his students to explore new areas and to engage in interdisciplinary collaborations. Together, they demonstrated the utility of THz spectroscopy to elucidate liquid dynamics,(7) collective vibrational modes in organic molecular crystals,(8) transient photoconductivity in semiconductors,(9) and carrier dynamics in dye-sensitized nanocrystalline metal oxide films.(10) In addition, Charlie and his group recently developed a new method for performing THz spectroelectrochemistry, enabling potential-controlled experiments to be performed in the THz region.(11) Over the past 15 years, Charlie and his group have played a central role in the Yale Solar Group, a collaborative effort with the groups of bioinorganic chemist Prof. Gary W. Brudvig, organometallic chemist Prof. Robert H. Crabtree, and computational chemist Prof. Victor S. Batista.(12,13) This collaboration seeks to develop and understand the fundamental science behind photocatalytic platforms for the conversion of solar energy to transportable fuels. We also want to emphasize that Charlie was much more than the sum of his scientific achievements. Those who knew him appreciated his grounded nature and free spirit. Charlie was recently the subject of a Yale Daily News article in which he described himself as an “ordinary guy”.(14) Charlie’s unabashed inquisitive nature in scientific discourse set a high standard for his students and colleagues alike. He was never afraid to ask the “simple question” during a seminar when he knew most in the audience were hopelessly lost. Perhaps Charlie’s long-time collaborator, Prof. Gary Brudvig, put it best: “Charlie asked the questions that make us think hard about our science.” Charlie is survived by his mother, Mary Schmuttenmaer; his sister, Claire Fitz; Leigh Ann Tyson; their three children, Joseph Schmuttenmaer, Laura Kenyon, and Amie Rocha; and their grandchildren. Although Prof. Schmuttenmaer’s untimely passing has left us with profound sadness, his legacy of collegiality, rigor, and warmth will have a lasting positive effect on all who had the good fortune to know and work with him. The authors declare no competing financial interest. This article references 14 other publications.

中文翻译：

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向查尔斯·A·施穆滕玛尔致敬

图片来源：Derek Abbott和Graeme Wood

我们花点时间停下来，想一想我们的同事Charles Albert Schmuttenmaer教授的职业生涯和影响，他于2020年7月26日在他位于康涅狄格州纽黑文的家中去世。但是没有人给他打电话。查理（Charlie）出生于伊利诺伊州芝加哥郊外的橡树公园（Oak Park），就读于伊利诺伊大学香槟分校，于1985年获得化学学士学位。在UIUC期间，查理与赫伯特·S（Herbert S）教授进行了研究。 Gutowsky研究了由氩气和HF组成的气相团簇的旋转光谱。（1）随后他获得了博士学位。在加州大学伯克利分校进行研究，他与Richard J. Saykally教授一起研究和开发了远红外光谱学。₃复合体。（4）在那个时代，查理着迷于“太赫兹”（THz）光谱，尽管他总是清楚地区分“ THz光谱”是指脉冲远红外光谱，与伯克利开发的高分辨率连续波方案相反。完成博士学位后 在罗彻斯特大学（University of Rochester）从事博士后研究后，他首次与RJ Dwayne Miller教授合作进行超快光谱分析。他使用时间分辨的双光子光电子发射光谱学，涉足凝结领域，研究金属（5）和半导体（6）表面的热电子弛豫动力学。与任何想获得教授职位的博士后学者一样，查理也面临着发展自己在科学界的利基问题。在一次会议上，他的科学轨迹发生了关键性的转折，在会议上，他被介绍了使用与在罗切斯特使用的超快激光系统产生短脉冲远红外辐射的可能性。此时，在电磁频谱的THz区域中进行光谱分析（0.1–10 THz = 3–333 cm^–1）（通常称为“太赫兹间隙”）之所以具有挑战性，是因为这种辐射难以产生和检测。查理（Charlie）有了使用超快方法探索该频率区域的新方法，便设定了“缩小差距”的路线，并且从不回头。1994年，查理（Charlie）加入耶鲁大学（Yale University）的教职，在那里他建立了有关太赫兹光谱在化学科学中的发展和应用的研究计划。当遇到新的材料或科学问题时，查理和他的小组运用了这一口头禅：“让我们试一试，看看它是否有效。” 在这一点上，查理（Charlie）毫无保留地倡导科学中的偶然发现，并一直鼓励他的学生探索新领域并从事跨学科合作。一起，13）这项合作旨在发展和了解光催化平台背后的基础科学，该平台将太阳能转化为可运输的燃料。我们还想强调一点，查理不仅仅是他的科学成就的总和。那些了解他的人赞赏他扎根的本性和自由的精神。查理最近是耶鲁日报（14）查理在科学话语中毫不掩饰的好奇心为他的学生和同事们树立了高标准。当他知道听众中的大多数人无可救药时，他从不害怕在研讨会上问“简单的问题”。也许查理（Charlie）的长期合作者加里·布鲁德维格（Gary Brudvig）教授说得最好：“查理问了一些使我们对科学进行认真思考的问题。” 查理（Charlie）的母亲玛丽（Mary Schmuttenmaer）幸存下来。他的妹妹克莱尔·菲茨（Claire Fitz）雷·安·泰森（Leigh Ann Tyson）他们的三个孩子，约瑟夫·施穆滕马耶，劳拉·凯尼恩和艾米·罗查；和他们的孙子们。尽管Schmuttenmaer教授的过早去世给我们带来了深深的悲伤，但他的合作传统，严谨，温暖将对所有有幸认识并与他合作的人产生持久的积极影响。作者宣称没有竞争性的经济利益。本文引用了其他14个出版物。