Charlie has research interests in experimental atomic, molecular and optical physics. In his experiments at Colby College he uses Rydberg atoms (atoms with the electrons in very large orbits) as model systems for understanding high-intensity atom-field interactions, the dynamics of quantum mechanical systems, and the control of quantum mechanical processes. These experiments use strong, precisely shaped, electromagnetic field pulses to control and shape atomic and molecular wavefunctions. Because strong fields can alter the structure of an atom as well as drive transitions between different atomic states, using strong fields has promise as a method to manipulate quantum dynamics in ways that are not possible with weak fields. His current research involves developing apparatus for microwave field experiments, experimental measurement of population transfer in Raman systems using chirped pulses, and using learning algorithms to experimentally find the optimal pulse shapes for driving Raman transitions. His research has been funded by the Research Corporation, the Petroleum Research Fund, and currently by the National Science Foundation. He has been a visiting scientist at the Institute for Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, at the Center for Atomic, Molecular and Optical Science at the University of Virginia, and the FOCUS Physics Frontier Center at the University of Michigan.

He has been a visiting scientist at the Institute for Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, at the Center for Atomic, Molecular and Optical Science at the University of Virginia, and is a frequent visitor to the FOCUS Physics Frontier Center at the University of Michigan. He has served as a reviewer and panellist for NSF and he has reviewed papers for The Physical Review: Physical Review A, The Physical Review: Physical Review B, The Physical Review: Physical Review Letters, and The American Journal of Physics

Courses Taught:

• PH 115 The Shadow of the Bomb

• PH 116 Chaos and Complexity

• PH 141 Foundations of Physics I

• PH 197j Environmental Physics

• PH 199 Space, Time, Quanta and the Bomb: 1919-1945 (integrated semester class)

• PH 241 Modern Physics I

• PH 254 Essential Electronics

• PH 311 Classical Mechanics

• PH 432 Advanced Quantum Mechanics

• PH 493 Senior Seminar

He is a member of the American Physical Society, and an executive committee member of the New England Section of the American Physical Society.

When not at work, Charlie likes to spend time with his daughter Bea and his son Arthur. He also builds furniture very slowly in his basement.