R. J. Dwayne Miller is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and a professor at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. His focus is in

physical chemistry 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

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations ...

. He is most widely known for his work in

ultrafast In optics, an ultrashort pulse, also known as an ultrafast event, is an electromagnetic pulse whose time duration is of the order of a picosecond (10−12 second) or less. Such pulses have a broadband optical spectrum, and can be created by m ...

laser science Laser science or laser physics is a branch of optics that describes the theory and practice of lasers. Laser science is principally concerned with quantum electronics, laser construction, optical cavity design, the physics of producing a popula ...

time-resolved spectroscopy In physics and physical chemistry, time-resolved spectroscopy is the study of dynamic processes in materials or chemical compounds by means of spectroscopic techniques. Most often, processes are studied after the illumination of a material occurs, ...

, and the development of new

femtosecond A femtosecond is a unit of time in the International System of Units (SI) equal to 10 or of a second; that is, one quadrillionth, or one millionth of one billionth, of a second. A femtosecond is to a second, as a second is to approximately 31.6 ...

electron sources. His research has enabled real-time observation of atomic motions in materials during chemical processes and has shed light on the structure-function correlation that underlies biology.

Early life and education

Miller was born and raised in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. In 1978, he received a

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in chemistry and

immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

where Bryan R. Henry was his advisor. He completed his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in chemistry at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1983 under the supervision of

Michael D. Fayer Michael David Fayer (born September 12, 1947) is an American chemical physicist. He is the David Mulvane Ehrsam and Edward Curtis Franklin Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University. Education and academic career He attended the University of ...

. His thesis work focused on energy transport in model systems of

photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...

and is titled ''Part I, Electronic excited state transport and trapping in disordered systems; Part II, Laser induced ultrasonics''.

Academic career

Following graduation, Miller gained a faculty position at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

and immediately took a 12-month leave to do

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

in solid state physics as a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

science fellow at the Laboratoire de Spectrometrie Physique (renamed to Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Physique in 2011) at the

Université Joseph Fourier Joseph Fourier University (UJF, , also known as Grenoble I) was a French university situated in the city of Grenoble and focused on the fields of sciences, technologies and health. It is now part of the Université Grenoble Alpes. Importance A ...

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

under the direction of Hans Peter Trommsdorff and Robert Romenstain. He returned to University of Rochester in 1984 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, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

of chemistry. He was promoted to

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

in 1988 and then full

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of chemistry and

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

in 1992. In 1995, he moved back to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and relocated his research group to the departments of chemistry and physics at the University of Toronto. In 2006, he was appointed as a University Professor and later as a Distinguished Faculty Research Chair. From 2010-2014, R. J. D. Miller was the director of the Max Planck Group, Centre for Free Electron Laser Science/DESY, University of Hamburg. From 2014-2020, he was the co-founding director of Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 2023, he was inducted as a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and has been a fellow of

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

and the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

since 1999 and 2016, respectively. He is also a member of the

Chemical Institute of Canada The Chemical Institute of Canada is a Canadian professional umbrella organization for researchers and professionals in the field of chemistry. It was founded in 1921 as the Canadian Institute of Chemistry until it merged with other groups in 1945 ...

Canadian Association of Physicists Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP), or in French Association canadienne des physiciens et physiciennes (ACP) is a Canadian professional society that focuses on creating awareness among Canadians and Canadian legislators of physics issues, sp ...

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

, and

Optical Society of America Optica, founded as the Optical Society of America (later the Optical Society), is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals, organizes conferences and exhibitions, and ca ...

Science outreach

Beyond his scientific work, Miller is dedicated to the promotion of science education through outreach to school children. He founded and is a board member of

Science Rendezvous Science Rendezvous is the largest science festival in Canada; its inaugural event happened across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) on Saturday, May 10, 2008 with the support from the University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University, Ryerson ...

, an annual

science festival A science festival is a festival that showcases science and technology with a similar atmosphere to an arts or music festival, and that primarily targets the general public. These public engagement events can be varied, including lectures, exhi ...

that aims to expose general public to science and technology.

Bibliography

Selected papers

* Duan HG, Jha A, Chen L, Tiwari V, Cogdell RJ, Ashraf K, Prokhorenko VI, Thorwart M, Miller RJD. ''Quantum coherent energy transport in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex at low temperature.'' PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 119 (49) :e2212630119, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1063/4.0000159 * Zhipeng Huang; Meghanad Kayanattil; Stuart A. Hayes; R. J. Dwayne Miller. ''Picosecond infrared laser driven sample delivery for simultaneous liquid-phase and gas-phase electron diffraction studies.'' STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, 9 :054301, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1063/4.0000159 * Gourab Chatterjee, Ajay Jha, Alejandro Blanco-Gonzalez, Vandana Tiwari, Madushanka Manathunga, Hong-Guang Duan, Friedjof Tellkamp, Valentyn I. Prokhorenko, Nicolas Ferré, Jyotishman Dasgupta, Massimo Olivucci and R. J. Dwayne Miller. ''Torsionally broken symmetry assists infrared excitation of biomimetic charge-coupled nuclear motions in the electronic ground state.'' CHEMICAL SCIENCE, 13 :9392-9400, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2SC02133A * Chiwon Lee, Alexander Marx, Günther H. Kassier & R. J. Dwayne Miller. ''Disentangling surface atomic motions from surface field effects in ultrafast low-energy electron diffraction.'' COMMUNICATIONS MATERIALS, 3 (10), 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-022-00231-9 * Zhang, M., Zhang, S., Xiong, Y., Zhang, H., Ischenko, A., Vendrell, O., Dong, X., Mu, X., Centurion, M., Xu, H., Miller, RJD., Li, Z.. ''Quantum state tomography of molecules by ultrafast diffraction.'' NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 12 :5441, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25770-6 * P. Mehrabi, R. Bücker, G. Bourenkov, H.M. Ginn, D. von Stetten, H.M. Müller-Werkmeister, A. Kuo, T. Morizumi, B.T. Eger, W.-L. Ou, S. Oghbaey, A. Sarracini, J.E. Besaw, O. Pare´-Labrosse, S. Meier11, H. Schikora, F. Tellkamp, A. Marx, D.A. Sherrell, D. Ax. ''Serial femtosecond and serial synchrotron crystallography can yield data of equivalent quality: A systematic comparison.'' SCIENCE ADVANCES, 7 (12) :eabf1380, 2021. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abf1380 * Michiel de Kock, Sana Azim, Gunther Kassier, and R. J. Dwayne Miller. ''Determining the radial distribution function of water using electron scattering: A key to solution phase chemistry.'' THE JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS, 153 :194504, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0024127 * Hong-Guang Duan, Ajay Jha, Xin Li4, Vandana Tiwari, Hanyang Ye, Pabitra K. Nayak, Xiao-Lei Zhu4, Zheng Li, Todd J. Martinez, Michael Thorwart, R. J. Dwayne Miller. ''Intermolecular vibrations mediate ultrafast singlet fission.'' SCIENCE ADVANCES, 6 (38) :eabb0052, 2020. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/38/eabb0052 * Cheng, S., Chatterjee, G., Tellkamp, F., Lang, T., Ruehl, A., Hartl, I., Miller, R.J.D.. ''Compact Ho:YLF-pumped ZnGeP2-based optical parametric amplifiers tunable in the molecular fingerprint regime.'' OPTICS LETTERS, 45 (8) :2255–2258, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.389535 * Krawczyk, K.M., Sarracini, A., Green, P.B., Hasham, M., Tang, K., Paré-Labrosse, O., Voznyy, O., Wilson, M.W.B., Miller, R.J.D.. ''Anisotropic, Nonthermal Lattice Disordering Observed in Photoexcited PbS Quantum Dots.'' THE JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C, 125 (40) :22120-22132, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c07064

Books

References

External links

Miller group at the University of Toronto

Miller group (former) at MPI for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg

Science Rendezvous
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, R. J. Dwayne 1956 births 20th-century Canadian scientists 21st-century Canadian scientists Canadian physical chemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society Living people Scientists from Winnipeg Scientists from Manitoba Stanford University alumni Spectroscopists Sloan Research Fellows University of Manitoba alumni University of Rochester faculty Academic staff of the University of Toronto Chemical physicists Condensed matter physicists Max Planck Institute directors