Meredith Jordan

Professor Meredith Jordan serves as Professor of Theoretical Chemistry in the School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, at the University of Sydney. She heads the Jordan Group, which utilizes theoretical and computational methodologies to explore molecular interactions at a fundamental level. The group's research includes the creation of novel interpolation techniques to generate precise analytic potential energy surfaces (PES), the study of solvated species via Quantum Diffusion Monte Carlo techniques, the characterization of the fluxional structure of CH₅⁺ using its first accurate PES, the extension of PES schemes to non-metallic porous crystals, the modeling of structural changes with temperature employing Path Integral Monte Carlo techniques, the simulation of photodissociation dynamics on accurate PES through classical dynamics, and the development of computational protocols for drug design that account for zwitterionic amino acids in aqueous environments. Further investigations cover the modeling of interactions between hydrated Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Sr²⁺ ions and amino acid residues relevant to osteoporosis binding sites, as well as anharmonic effects in hydrogen bonds correlating with IR and NMR data.

Meredith Jordan earned her PhD from the University of Sydney in 1994 and subsequently served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Research School of Chemistry. Her research has significantly contributed to fields such as atmospheric chemistry, where her studies on roaming reactions and photophysical oxidation have implications for climate change modeling. Notable publications include "Structural Effects on the Norrish Type I α-Bond Cleavage of Linear Ketones" published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry A in 2019, "Photodissociation dynamics of propanal and isobutanal: The Norrish type I pathway" in The Journal of Chemical Physics in 2018, and "Photophysical oxidation of HCHO produces HO2 radicals" in 2023. Additionally, she co-authored a paper in Science in 2020 that provides insights into the mechanics of roaming reactions in atmospheric molecules. Professor Jordan's work advances the understanding of quantum mechanical effects in chemical reactions and their applications across diverse scientific domains.

Professional Email: meredith.jordan@sydney.edu.au