Dr. Paul Merkel

B.S. St. John Fisher College
Ph.D. Notre Dame

Paul is a senior scientist in the JPD group. His areas of interest include photophysics (including laser photolysis, energy transfer and luminescence), photochemistry (including photoisomerizations, singlet oxygen chemistry and photochemotherapy), salvatochromism, kinetics, processes in rigid media, electron impact spectroscopy, photographic chemistry, color science, covering power phenomena, materials science and ink jet materials. Most recently, his research at the University of Rochester has focused on determination of triplet state energies, kinetics and mechanisms of triplet energy transfer in solution and in rigid media, and chain photoisomerization reactions.

Paul received a Bachelor of Science degree (summa cum laude) from St. John Fisher College. He carried out graduate work in the Chemistry Department of the University of Notre Dame under a NASA fellowship. His research at the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory under William H. Hamill focused on low-energy electron impact spectroscopy, luminescence and laser photolysis. He also carried out postdoctoral research at the University of California at Riverside in the area of singlet oxygen photochemistry under David R. Kearns. He has 27 publications in the areas of photochemistry and photophysics.

Most of his carreer was spent at Eastman Kodak Research Laboratories from which he retired as a Senior Research Associate in 2001. In 1990 he received the Kenneth Mees Award at Kodak for his work in the area of solvatochromism. He holds over 90 U.S. patents and currently does consulting work at Kodak. He is also a practicing registered Patent Agent.

Paul enjoys astronomy and is an avid billiards player.