I plan to submit a proposal to Exobiology program (NNH05ZDA001N-EXB)
that involves computation of accurate infrared spectra of small biological
building blocks (e.g. amino acids, small peptides, DNA bases), as well as
their precursors and other organic molecules that may exist in the
interstellar medium. The proposed studies will be performed using a new
technique that allows calculation of anharmonic vibrational spectra for
large polyatomic molecules. I propose to eventually create a database of
spectra for a number of prebiotic molecules of interest. Such database
of spectroscopic signatures should assist in the interpretation of infrared
data from astronomical observations. I would like to collaborate with
experimentalists in code S in order to advance this project and to obtain funds.