Eric Arsenault, whose research focuses on developing and applying ultrafast spectroscopies to understand the dynamics of complex nanoscale systems, has been appointed assistant professor of chemistry, effective Jan. 1.
Arsenault is currently a postdoctoral scientist and junior fellow in the Simons Society of Fellows in the Department of Chemistry at Columbia University.
At Yale, Arsenault will establish a laboratory that develops innovative methods in experimental physical chemistry to uncover how complex environments, from proteins to quantum materials, govern the behavior of energy and charge. Building on his expertise in ultrafast spectroscopy and condensed-phase systems, his lab will advance multidimensional experimental techniques to provide new perspectives on nanoscale dynamics across multiple energy, length, and time scales. These approaches will enable his group to address open questions about how interactions between electronic and vibrational degrees of freedom—structured across space and time—conspire to dictate transformations ranging from light-to-chemical energy conversion in photosynthetic systems to the formation of new quasiparticles and phases of matter in quantum materials. With new experiments comes new understanding, which Arsenault aims to translate into design principles relevant to emerging platforms in solar energy conversion, optoelectronics, and beyond.
“We are delighted to welcome Eric to our faculty!” said Mark Johnson, the Arthur T. Kemp Professor of Chemistry. “In the long-standing tradition of experimental physical chemistry, Eric is creating an ultrafast, coherent laser tool-kit capable of revealing molecular-level processes that control the performance of engineered nanostructures for quantum electronics. Moreover, his new methods are generally applicable and will bring a fresh perspective on the diverse activities in the molecular sciences across the Yale campus.”
Arsenault earned his B.A. in chemistry and in physics from Wesleyan University. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2021, where he applied two-dimensional electronic-vibrational spectroscopy to study light-harvesting proteins and bioinspired model systems under the mentorship of Professor Graham Fleming. While at Berkeley, Arsenault was supported by the Berkeley Fellowship for Graduate Study and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. His research was also recognized at the 22nd International Conference on Ultrafast Phenomena, where he received the Best Student Paper Prize. In 2022, he began his postdoctoral work with Professor Xiaoyang Zhu at Columbia University, where he utilized ultrafast spectroscopy and microscopy to understand the stability origins of correlated insulators hosted within moiré superlattices. This work pioneered the first investigations of moiré quantum matter through a time-domain perspective.
“I am beyond excited to join the Department of Chemistry at Yale, where the depth of curiosity and intellectual engagement among the faculty and students is energizing,” said Arsenault. “The openness to collaborative, interdisciplinary science at Yale is also something I really value. This is exactly the kind of environment I want to be part of and contribute to, and I believe it will provide a foundation where my research program can not only take root, but also evolve in unexpected ways.”