Research

Carol Hirschmugl studies the surface physics of adsorbates on epitaxial and bulk oxide systems, focusing on environmentally and technologically relevant problems. Investigative approaches include far and mid-infrared absorption studies and picoampere low energy electron diffraction to study low energy dynamics and structure at aqueous-oxide interfaces. In addition, Hirschmugl is developing a rapid chemical imaging technique using infrared imaging microscope coupled to an synchrotron source, which will be used to examine real-time biochemical changes in vivo.

Biography

Carol Hirschmugl received her BSc in Physics from State University of New York at StonyBrook in 1987 and her Applied Physics PhD from Yale University in 1994. She then received an Alexander von Humboldt grant to do research at Fritz Haber Institut, Berlin, from 1994 to 1996. In 1996, she was awarded the University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship to work at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Since 1997, Hirschmugl has been at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she is professor of the Physics Department and the Director of the Laboratory for Dynamics and Structure at Surfaces.

Professor Hirschmugl held visiting scientist positions at ANKA, FZK (Karlsruhe, Germany) in 2004 and at ESRG (Grenoble, France) in 2005. She has mentored seven REU students and one RET High school teacher during the past 4 years. Hirschmugl’s awards include Fellow of the American Vacuum Society “For longstanding instrumental and scientific contributions to synchrotron-based infrared spectroscopy and micro-spectroscopy, including its applications to surface science, materials science, biophysics, and cultural heritage.” (2014), three from the National Science Foundation and the Research Corporation Research Innovation award. Her research is currently supported by a UWM Research Growth Initiative award and a grant from the Southeastern Wisconsin Energy Technology Research Center.

Selected Publications