Robin Shakeshaft and his group study the interaction of small atoms (e.g. H, He, H^-) and molecules (e.g. H₂⁺) with strong electromagnetic fields. Their research can be divided into two areas according to whether the electromagnetic field is a short pulse (a few oscillations, perhaps less than one) or a long pulse (many oscillations). In the former case one must solve the full time dependent Schroedinger equation, which in the case of a two electron system is a formidable problem that they continue to struggle with. In the long pulse case, they have made quite a bit of progress in calculating the energy and angular distributions of electrons emitted from a helium atom, but only after resorting to a supercomputer (the Connection Machine). The software available on supercomputers is still quite primitive and so they had to learn a lot about supercomputer architecture in order to write their own software; in the process, they have developed a lot of experience with, and some interest in, supercomputing.

B.Sc., University of London, England, 1968;
Ph.D., University of Nebraska, 1972.

Department of Physics & Astronomy
Office: SSC 215A
Tel: (213) 740-7888
Fax: (213) 740-6653
robins@usc.edu