William Dufresne

My research incorporates vibrational spectroscopy, ab initio modeling, and chemometrics to study carbon in natural systems. I’m interested in various properties of carbonaceous materials such as structure, thermal alteration, and chirality. Understanding these properties can help answer questions about definitive signs of life, extant or extinct, on our planet and in the solar system.

Presently, I’m working on the development of Raman optical activity (ROA) to detect chirality and enantiomeric excess of amino acids for in-situ exploration of Europa and ocean worlds.