= Neil T. Hunt
{c}
= Neil Terrence Hunt
{c}
{synonym}
= N. T. Hunt
{c}
{synonym}
\b[Neil T. Hunt] is a physical chemist who uses ultrafast <infrared spectroscopy> to study molecular structure and dynamics. His York profile describes applications of <two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy> to <proteins>, <DNA> and their interactions, together with instrument development at the Central Laser Facility.<Neil Hunt profile at the University of York>[Research Overview]{ref}
In <two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy>, a sequence of pulses distributes the response over two frequency axes. Diagonal and off-diagonal features reveal different information; correlations between vibrational modes can help distinguish structures whose ordinary absorption bands overlap. Hunt's account discusses this approach for proteins in water, where solvent absorption complicates observation of the protein bands.<Using 2D-IR Spectroscopy to Measure the Structure, Dynamics, and Intermolecular Interactions of Proteins in H2O by Neil T. Hunt>[Conspectus and Introduction]{ref}
Hunt also coauthored the2022 <RNA hairpin> study using a rapid <temperature jump> followed by sufficiently fast cooling to observe refolding directly.<Measuring RNA UNCG Tetraloop Refolding Dynamics Using Temperature-Jump Drop Infrared Spectroscopy by C. P. Howe and others>[Abstract and author information]{ref}
The distinction is experimentally useful: an equilibrium spectrum records the population-weighted response after relaxation, while a time-resolved measurement follows how that response changes after a perturbation. Measuring the dynamics requires a known time reference and a sufficiently fast instrumental response, not merely a spectrum with narrow frequency bins.
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