Michael Kasha

Michael Kasha
Born	(1920-12-06)December 6, 1920 Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.
Nationality	Ukrainian-American
Fields	Physical chemist
Doctoral advisor	Gilbert N. Lewis
Doctoral students	Mostafa El-Sayed
Known for	Kasha's rule

Michael Kasha (born December 6, 1920) is an American physical chemist and molecular spectroscopist who is one of the original founders of the Institute of Molecular Biophysics at Florida State University (FSU). Born in Elizabeth, NJ to a family of Ukrainian immigrants, he earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from University of California at Berkeley in 1945, working with renowned physical chemist G.N. Lewis.

He is a Distinguished University Research Professor at FSU. He is an elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, as well as the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science.

The research in his molecular spectroscopy laboratory has maintained a strong tradition of the discovery and elucidation of excitation mechanisms, with particular application to photochemical and biophysical problems. His most important achievements include identifying triplet states as source of phosphorescence emission, formulating the Kasha rule on fluorescence, and his work on singlet molecular oxygen.

Kasha is also known for his interest in improving the sound quality and durability of the acoustic guitar and the classic string instruments. His guitar design is patented and is known as "Kasha guitar". A 30-year collaboration with luthier Richard Schneider led to a series of innovative changes to the traditional classical guitar.

Literature

• R. Hochstrasser, J. Saltiel. Research Career of Michael Kasha. J. Phys. Chem. A, 2003, 107 (18), pp 3161–3162

External links

• Florida State University faculty profile
• Michael Kasha Lecture Video Lecture provided by the Vega Science Trust.
• http://handmadeguitars.tripod.com/publist.html List of publications by Kasha and others about Kasha's guitar design and guitar acoustics research.