Steven Corcelli
Professor; Department Chair
- Office
- 251A Nieuwland Science Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556 - Phone
- +1 574-631-2631
- scorcell@nd.edu
Research Areas
- Biochemistry
- Physical/Analytical Chemistry
Research Specialties
- Energy
- Life Processes
- Theory
Prospective Graduate Students
Biography
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2022-present | Chair, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame |
| 2019-2022 | Associate Dean for Interdisciplinary Studies and Faculty Development, University of Notre Dame |
| 2017-present | Professor, University of Notre Dame |
| 2015-2016 | Director of Graduate Studies, University of Notre Dame |
| 2011-2017 | Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame |
| 2005-2011 | Assistant Professor, University of Notre Dame |
| 2002-2005 | Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Wisconsin |
| 2001 | Ph.D. in Chemistry, Yale University |
| 1997 | Sc.B. in Chemistry, Brown University |
Selected Awards
2020 Thomas P. Madden Award
2019, 2012 Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C. Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
2016 Fellow, American Chemical Society
2011 Kavli Fellow, National Academies of Science and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
2009 Sloan Research Fellowship
2009 NSF CAREER Award
2005 Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award
2003-2005 Ruth L. Kirchstein National Research Service Award
Research Interests
Aqueous acids, bases, and salts. Aqueous solutions containing acids, bases, and salts play an important role in many chemical, biological, and environmental processes. The Corcelli lab uses simulations to reveal the structure, dynamics, and transport of ions in aqueous electrolytes with atomistic resolution. In particular, this project aims to achieve a detailed molecular-level understanding of the role of counterions, ion-pairing, and solvent-shared ion pairs on the mobility of ions in solution, which is especially relevant to emerging battery technologies using aqueous electrolytes. State-of-the-art calculations of infrared spectra validate the simulations and uncover the spectroscopic signatures of structural and dynamical motifs in aqueous acids, bases, and salts.
Biomolecular binding. The interactions of proteins with other proteins and the binding of proteins and RNA to DNA are essential to biological function. Moreover, the binding of small molecules to biomolecules forms the basis of many pharmacological interventions. However, the detailed molecular mechanism for these critical interactions and binding processes is not well understood. Leveraging graphics processor unit (GPU) acceleration and advanced sampling algorithms like the weighted ensemble method, the Corcelli lab is using atomistic simulations with explicit solvent to investigate the mechanism of drug complexation to DNA and the binding of a T cell receptor (TCR) protein to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). These studies are elucidating the mechanism of biomolecular binding with unprecedented detail.
Selected Publications
- Brossard, E. E. and Corcelli, S. A. "Molecular Mechanism of Ligand Binding to the Minor Groove of DNA" 2023 Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 14 (19), pp.4583-4590. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00635.
- Hanson, M. D. and Corcelli, S. A. "Coupled Local Mode Method for Simulating Vibrational Spectroscopy" 2022 Journal of Chemical Physics, 157 (15), 154103. DOI: 10.1063/5.0119631.
- Hanson, M. D.; Readnour, J. A.; Hassanali, A. A. and Corcelli, S. A. "Coupled Local-Mode Approach for the Calculation of Vibrational Spectra: Application to Protonated Water Clusters" 2021 Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 12 (38), pp.9226-9232. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c02254.
- Drexler, C. I.; Cracchiolo, O. M.; Myers, R. L.; Okur, H. I.; Serrano, A. L.; Corcelli, S. A. and Cremer, P. S. "Local Electric Fields in Aqueous Electrolytes" 2021 Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 125 (30), pp.8484-8493. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c03257.
- Hodge, S. R.; Corcelli, S. A. and Berg, M. A. "Nonlinear Measurements of Kinetics and Generalized Dynamical Modes. II. Application to a Simulation of Solvation Dynamics in an Ionic Liquid" 2021 Journal of Chemical Physics, 155 (2), 024123. DOI: 10.1063/5.0053424.
- de Oliveira, D. M.; Bredt, A. J.; Miller, T. C.; Corcelli, S. A. and Ben-Amotz, D. "Spectroscopic and Structural Characterization of Water-Shared Ion-Pairs in Aqueous Sodium and Lithium Hydroxide" 2021 Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 125 (5), pp.1439-1446. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c10564.