Xavier Chillier
Short Resume
Xavier Chillier got his Ph.D. at the University of Geneva in 1994, for a work done between the mass spectrometry laboratory of the Faculty and Oak Rigde National Laboratory (TN, USA). 1995-97, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University the group of R.N. Zare. In 1997-99, he worked at NASA (Goddard, Greenbelt MD/Ames Research Center (Moffett Field, CA). In 2000, he got his habilitation from University Claude Bernard (Lyon I) and was tenured professeur des Universités (CNU, Paris). In 2001, he was appointed as chargé de cours (senior lecturer). Moreover, since 2003, he is the academic advisor of the Faculty of Science and vice-president of the maturité board (swiss baccalauréat) in Bern.
Teaching Activities
His teaching activities are general chemistry for life science, pharmacy, Earth science and Environment students. The selection of chapters taught include an introduction to quantum chemistry, chemical bonds, thermodynamics and kinetics aspects of the reactions. Moreover, he teaches an introduction to the organic geochemistry for Earth Environmental Science.
Research Interests
His research is focused on structural analysis of organic molecules in sediments or in meteorites by mass spectrometry, on the development and applications of non-equilibrium thermodynamics to investigate natural matrix as biological, geochemical or atmospheric systems. Experimentalist by education, now he is working on the theoretical aspects of the auto-catalyze, the self-assembly and the systems very far from equilibrium. Now, he also writes novels as science-in-fiction kind and an essay about chemistry.
Key References
Contribution to the Analysis of predissociated rovibronic structure of the symmetric isotopomers 16O3 et 18O3 of Ozone, by high resolution absorption spectroscopy near 10400 cm-1 3A2(302) ← X1A1 (000) and 3B2 ← X1A1 Spectrochim. Acta A, 60, 889-898 (2004)
Luminescence from VUV irradiated cosmic ice analogs and residues Astrophysical J., 583, 514-523 (2003)
Benzo[g,h,i]perylene : an Experimental and Theoretical Approach of Absorption and Emission for Astrochemical Applications J. Chem. Phys., 115, 1769-1776 (2001)
Rate Constant and RRKM Product Study for the Reaction Between CH3 and C2H3 at T = 298 K Int. J. Chem. Kinet., 32, 304-316 (2000)
Search for Life on Mars: Possible Relic Biogenic Activity in Martian Meteorite ALH84001 Science, 273, 924-930 (1996)
A novel sedimentary lacustrine chlorin: characterisation and geochemical occurence, Chemosphere, 27, 2103-2110 (1993)