The focus of Dr. Morgenstern’s research is discovering how to use the electron charge density to better understand and design molecules, materials, and enzymes. The most fundamental component of this research is the development of gradient bundle analysis, an extension of the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) that provides a method for extracting detailed structure from the charge density. Applications of these methods include projects on designing chelating agents for radiotherapeutics and designing novel metalloenzymes. Current work is focused on using the charge density as a sensitive probe for electrostatic preorganization in an effort to improve the enzyme design process.
