Kimberly A. Briggman (Fed)

Kimberly Briggman is a physical chemist and leader of the Molecular and BioPhotonics Group in the Applied Physics Division at NIST. She began her work at NIST in 1999 as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow, developing and applying nonlinear optical spectroscopic methods to study molecular interfaces.

Her research focuses on the development of nonlinear optical techniques for probing interfaces at material surfaces, within thin-film systems, and in buried layered structures. A central example is broadband vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy, an interface-sensitive technique in which two laser pulses combine to generate light at their sum frequency. Using femtosecond laser pulses, this approach provides broad spectral coverage and time-resolved insight into molecular structure and dynamics at interfaces.

Dr. Briggman’s work includes spectroscopic studies of molecules at buried epitaxial interfaces, ultrafast measurements of interfacial molecular dynamics, evaluation of thin-film structure and quality, and the development of vibrational methods for assessing molecular structures. In addition to her scientific research, she has served as a senior policy analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as a program analyst in the NIST Program Office.