Bio
Dr. Kimberly de La Harpe is a Professor of Physics at the U.S Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. She teaches both general and advanced physics courses and mentors cadets on independent and capstone research projects.
Dr. de La Harpe earned a BS in Chemistry from the University of Portland and a PhD in Chemistry (Physical Chemistry) from the Ohio State University. For her doctoral research, she worked in Prof Kohler’s lab studying the excited-state dynamics of DNA systems using time-resolved spectroscopy.
Education
Ph.D., Chemistry (Physical Chemistry), Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (2011)
Optical Science and Engineering Program, Physical Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo.(2005-2006)
Bachelor of Science, Chemistry (minor in Mathematics), University of Portland, Portland, Ore. (2005)
Professional Experience
Professor of Physics, Department of Physics and Meteorology, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (2021-Present)
Associate Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (2016-2021)
Director, Center for Physics Education Research, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (2014-2017)
Assistant Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (2012-2016)
Instructor of Physics, Department of Physics, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (2011-2012)
Honors & Awards
DF Category III Civilian of the Year, 2023.
Frank J. Seiler Award: Faculty Research Excellence in the Basic Sciences (2019)
DF Category II Civilian of the Year, 2018.
Frank J. Seiler Award: Faculty Research Excellence in the Basic Sciences (2015)
Outstanding Academy Educator Award (2013)
Research and Scholarly Interests
Photophysics of DNA
Physics Education Research
Excited-state dynamics
Publications
Evan P Van Orman, Steven M Wolf, Zheng Yung, Ethan D Holt, Kimberly de La Harpe, Matthias Zeller, Tod A Grusenmeyer, and Thomas G Gray, “Observation of long-lived phosphorescence in Au (I) complexes bearing chromophoric (N-heterocyclic carbene) ligands,” Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers, 2023, 10, 1623 – 1632.
Joseph J Mihaly, Steven M Wolf, Alexis T Phillips, Sokhalita Mam, Zheng Yung, Joy E. Haley, Matthias Zeller, Kimberly de La Harpe, Ethan Holt, Tod A Grusenmeyer, Stephanie Collins, and Thomas G Gray, “Synthetically Tunable White-, Green-, and Yellow-Green-Light Emission in Dual-Luminescent Gold (I) Complexes Bearing a Diphenylamino-2, 7-Fluorenyl Moiety,” Inorganic Chemistry, 2022, 61, 1228-1235.
Yuyuan Zhang, Chen He, Kimberly de La Harpe, Peter M Goodwin, Jeffrey T Petty, and Bern Kohler, “A single nucleobase tunes nonradiative decay in a DNA-bound silver cluster,” The Journal of Chemical Physics,” 2021, 155, 094305.
Joseph J. Mihaly, Alexis T. Phillips, Jacob T. Malloy, Zachary M. Marsh, Matthias Zeller, Joy E. Haley, Kimberly de La Harpe, Tod A. Grusenmeyer, and Thomas G. Gray, “Synthesis and Photophysical Properties of Laterally Asymmetric Digold (I) Alkynyls and Triazolyl: Ancillary Ligand and Organic Functionality Dictate Excited-State Dynamics,” Organometallics, 2020, 39, 489 – 494.
Yuyuan Zhang, Kimberly de La Harpe, Forrest R. Kohl, and Bern Kohler, “Isotopic substitution affects excited state branching in a DNA duplex in aqueous solution,” Chemical Communications, 2019, 55, 4174-4177.
Mira K. Marchioretto, Jacqueline T. Horton, Calvin A. Berstler, Joseph B. Humphries, Isaac J. Koloditch, Samuel D. Voss, Kimberly de La Harpe, Barry W. Hicks, and Latisha R. Jefferies, “Chemical cross-linking of a variety of GFPs as FRET donors for Yukon orange fluorescent protein: A project-based undergraduate laboratory experience,” Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 2018, 46, 516 – 522.
Yuyuan Zhang, Kimberly de La Harpe, Mahesh Hariharan , and Bern Kohler, “Excited-state dynamics of mononucleotides and DNA strands in a deep eutectic solvent,” Faraday Discussion, 2018, 207, 267 – 282.
Kimberly de La Harpe, Forrest R. Kohl, Yuyuan Zhang, and Bern Kohler, “Excited-State Dynamics of DNA Duplexes in a Deep Eutectic Solvent Probed by Femtosecond Time-Resolved IR Spectroscopy,” Journal of Physical Chemistry, 2018, 122, 2437 – 2444.
Devin Della-Rose, Randall Carlson, Kimberly de La Harpe, Steven Novotny, and Daniel Polsgrove, “Exoplanet Science in the Classroom: Learning Activities for an Introductory Physics Course,” The Physics Teacher, 2018, 56, 170 – 173.
Lara Martinez-Fernandez, Yuyuan Zhang, Kimberly de La Harpe, Ashley A. Beckstead, Bern Kohler, and Roberto Improta, “Photoinduced Long-lived Charge Transfer Excited States in AT-DNA Strands,” Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2016, 18, 21241-21245.
Yuyuan Zhang, Kimberly de La Harpe, Ashley A. Beckstead, Lara Martinez-Fernandez, Roberto Improta, and Bern Kohler, “Excited-State Dynamics of DNA Duplexes with Different H-Bonding Motifs,” Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2016, 7, 950–954.
Nathan B. Terry, Kimberly de La Harpe, and Fredrick J. Kontur, “The Development of a Learning Gap between Students with Strong Prerequisite Skills and Students with Weak Prerequisite Skills,” Journal of College Science Teaching, 2016, 45, 34-40.
Yuyuan Zhang, Kimberly de La Harpe, Ashley, A. Beckstead, Roberto Improta, and Bern Kohler, “UV-induced Proton Transfer between DNA Strands ,” Journal of the American Chemical Society 2015, 137, 7059-7062.
Fredrick J. Kontur, Kimberly de La Harpe, and Nathan B. Terry, “The Benefit of Completing Homework for Students with Different Aptitudes in an Introductory Electricity and Magnetism Course,” Physical Review – Special Topics Physics Education Research, 2015, 11, 010105.
Kimberly de La Harpe “Femtosecond UV and Infrared Time-Resolved Spectroscopy of DNA: From Well-ordered Sequences to Genomic DNA,” Doctoral Dissertation, The Ohio State University, 2011.
Kimberly de La Harpe and Bern Kohler, “Observation of Long-lived Excited States in DNA Oligomers with Significant Base Sequence Disorder,” Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2011, 2, 133-138.
Kimberly de La Harpe and Bern Kohler, “Ultrafast Excited-State Dynamics in Genomic DNA,” Proceedings of the Ultrafast Phenomena Conference XVII, 2010, 550-552.
Kimberly de La Harpe, Carlos E. Crespo-Hernández, and Bern Kohler, “Deuterium Isotope Effect on Excited-State Dynamics in an Alternating GC Oligonucleotide,” Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2009, 131, 17557-17559.
Kimberly de La Harpe, Carlos E. Crespo-Hernández, and Bern Kohler, “The Excited-State Lifetimes in a G·C DNA Duplex are Nearly Independent of Helix Conformation and Base-Pairing Motif,” ChemPhysChem (Special Edition in Biophysics), 2009, 10, 1421-1425.
Chris T. Middleton, Kimberly de La Harpe, Charlene Su, Yu Kay Law, Carlos E. Crespo-Hernández, and Bern Kohler, “DNA Excited-State Dynamics: From Single Bases to the Double Helix,” Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, 2009, 60, 217-239.
Carlos E. Crespo-Hernández, Kimberly de La Harpe, and Bern Kohler, “Ground-State Recovery Following UV Excitation is Much Slower in GC-DNA Duplexes and Hairpins Than in Mononucleotides,” Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2008, 130, 10844-10845.
Tomohisa Takaya, Charlene Su, Kimberly de La Harpe, Carlos E. Crespo-Hernández, and Bern Kohler, “UV Excitation of Single DNA and RNA Strands Produces High Yields of Exciplex States Between Two Stacked Bases,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 2008, 105, 10285-10290.
Andreas Gahlmann, Kimberly D. Kester*, and Steven G. Mayer, “Investigating the Effect of the Zwitterion/Lactone Equilibrium of Rhodamine B on the Cybotactic Region of the Acetonitrile/scCO2 Co-solvent,” Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2005, 109, 1753-1757.
Katsunori Tanaka, Kimberly D. Kester*, Nina Berova, and Koji Nakanishi, “Preparation of Ginkgolide and F-seco-ginkgolide Lactols: The Unique Reactivity of a-hydroxy Lactones Towards NaBH4,” Tetrahedron Letters
*publications under maiden name