physical chemist
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...
and tribologist who is known for pioneering numerical methods that incorporate
chemical reactions
A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the IUPAC nomenclature for organic transformations, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the pos ...
into modeling studies. She is a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...
in
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
.
Education
Harrison attended the
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, m ...
, and completed a
Ph.D
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
in
computational
Computation is any type of arithmetic or non-arithmetic calculation that follows a well-defined model (e.g., an algorithm).
Mechanical or electronic devices (or, historically, people) that perform computations are known as '' computers''. An esp ...
quantum chemistry
Quantum chemistry, also called molecular quantum mechanics, is a branch of physical chemistry focused on the application of quantum mechanics to chemical systems, particularly towards the quantum-mechanical calculation of electronic contribution ...
on gas-phase
reaction dynamics
Reaction dynamics is a field within physical chemistry, studying why chemical reactions occur, how to predict their behavior, and how to control them. It is closely related to chemical kinetics, but is concerned with individual chemical events on ...
under the supervision of H.R. Mayne in 1989.
Career
After a yearlong post-doctoral appointment at Duke University, Harrison joined the research group of Carter White and Richard Colton at the
Naval Research Laboratory
The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...
(NRL) as an
American Society of Engineering Education
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
postdoctoral
A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...
associate She joined the chemistry department at the United States Naval Academy as an
assistant professor
Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada.
Overview
This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and gene ...
, and was subsequently promoted to the ranks of
associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
Overview
In the '' North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is ...
and
full professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
. She has also held visiting scientist appointments at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...
and the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...
.
Harrison currently serves on the editorial board of Tribology Letters. She has held a variety of leadership, educational, and advisory roles in the AVS and STLE, and is the Vice-Chair for the 2022 Gordon Research Conference on Tribology.
Research and publications
Harrison studies
friction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding (motion), sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:
*Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative la ...
at the
molecular
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...
level and runs
simulations
A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...
to unravel the molecular origins of friction and wear. She has published on topics that include
Nanotribology
Nanotribology is the branch of tribology that studies friction, wear, adhesion and lubrication phenomena at the nanoscale, where atomic interactions and quantum effects are not negligible. The aim of this discipline is characterizing and modifying ...
,
Molecular dynamics
Molecular dynamics (MD) is a computer simulation method for analyzing the physical movements of atoms and molecules. The atoms and molecules are allowed to interact for a fixed period of time, giving a view of the dynamic "evolution" of th ...
Nanomechanics
Nanomechanics is a branch of ''nanoscience'' studying fundamental ''mechanical'' (elastic, thermal and kinetic) properties of physical systems at the nanometer scale. Nanomechanics has emerged on the crossroads of biophysics, classical mechanics, s ...
,
Wear
Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology.
Wear in ...
,
Nanoindentation
Nanoindentation, also called instrumented indentation testing, is a variety of indentation hardness tests applied to small volumes. Indentation is perhaps the most commonly applied means of testing the mechanical properties of materials. The nano ...
,
Friction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding (motion), sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:
*Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative la ...
,
Diamond
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...
and Mechanical properties. At NRL she began working with D.W. Brenner, who had recently reported a formalism for a
potential energy surface
A potential energy surface (PES) describes the energy of a system, especially a collection of atoms, in terms of certain parameters, normally the positions of the atoms. The surface might define the energy as a function of one or more coordina ...
now known as the "Brenner Potential". The potential was initially formulated for hydrocarbons in order to model diamond film deposition, but soon proved to be applicable to other scientific problems. Utilizing this potential and with a focus on diamond surfaces, Harrison was the lead author reporting on a number of pioneering accomplishments with Brenner and co-workers at NRL while she was at the Naval Academy. These include the first use of molecular dynamics to study atomic-scale friction and adhesion between sliding solids, the first reported simulation of a tribochemistry, and the first report of frictional energy dissipation with the use of molecular dynamics.
Her two most cited works have been cited over 3400 times each:
*A second-generation reactive empirical bond order (REBO) potential energy expression for hydrocarbons
DW Brenner, OA Shenderova, JA Harrison, SJ Stuart, B Ni, SB Sinnott, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 2002
*A reactive potential for hydrocarbons with intermolecular interactions
SJ Stuart, AB Tutein, JA Harrison, ''