Ryan Fortenberry
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Phone Number:
Email: r410@olemiss.edu
http://chemistry.olemiss.edu/ryan-fortenberry/

Key Words: Astrochemistry; Quantum Chemistry

Research Description: Ryan C. Fortenbeery is Associate Professor of Physical Chemistry. Fortenberry is a Clinton, Mississippi native and received a Bachelor's of Science in Mathematics and a Master's of Science in Communication both from Mississippi College. He earned a Ph.D. in Physical and Theoretical Chemistry from Virginia Tech and was a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. He was Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry at Georgia Southern University for five years before joining the faculty at the University of Mississippi in 2018. Fortenberry's computational astrochemistry research involves computing the ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and microwave spectra of molecules for their detection in space. This aids in the search for life in the cosmos as well as the early stages of planet formation and the late stages of carbon processing. Additionally, his research also looks for chemical formation pathways of molecules in astrophysical environments and supports experimental colleagues in various areas of chemistry. Fortenberry is formerly the Chair of the American Chemical Society's Astrochemistry subdivision, the University of Mississippi's campus coordinator for the Mississippi Space Grant Consortium, and is an associate editor for the journal Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science. He has over 150 publications, been PI on NASA grants, and authored the text Complete Science Communication published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Additionally, he enjoys time with family, traveling to new places, and is working on climbing the highest points in all 50 states; he's current at 34 state high points.

Honors Theses:

Wallace, Austin Michael (2022) Computational Electronic Spectroscopy Predictions for Astrochemical Ice Analogues and Data Analysis for Experimental Spectra (full text)

Valencia, Efrain Michael (2022) Computational Investigations into Astrochemical Inorganic Oxides, Ammonia Borane, and Genetic Algorithms (full text)

Gardner, Mason (2021) Spectroscopic Analysis of Potential Astromolecules Via Quantum Chemical Quartic Force Fields (full text)

Dallas, Jax (2021) Computational Investigation of Stellar Cooling, Noble Gas Nucleation, and Organic Molecular Spectra (full text)