With support from the Chemical Mechanism, Function, and Properties Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Miguel A. Garcia-Garibay of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA is taking advantage of crystals to explore the remarkable control of chemical reactivity that occurs when molecules are designed to break and make bonds upon the absorption of light. This project addresses the motion of light particles in crystals, also known as triplet excitons, which are transported by excited electrons moving from one molecule to another in a way that they have the same spin state, known as a triplet state. With the proper molecular design, triplet excitons can lead to the formation of reactive species where the two separated electrons are forced to remain at very close distances such that the evolution of their spin states may have potential applications in quantum information science. Triplet excitons can also enable a novel chemical amplification strategy where one photon leads to hundreds of chemical reactions by enabling a quantum chain reaction. In addition to exploring a frontier of chemical knowledge, this multifaceted project provides an excellent multi-disciplinary training ground for students who will join the intellectual and human infrastructure needed to support our country’s leadership in areas of critical scientific and technological development. Over the last few years the Garcia-Garibay group has established the structural and energetic req