Professor of Chemistry

Office: SHC-210
(727) 864-8457
Email Professor Hudson

Dr. Hudson earned his bachelor's degree, with majors in mathematics and chemistry, from Pfeiffer College and his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. Since coming to Eckerd College in 1978 he has done research in conjunction with scientists at University College London and at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. His main research activities now involve cometary and interstellar chemistry, particularly the influence of high-energy radiation on cometary surfaces, icy satellites of the outer planets, and interstellar matter. He teaches the junior-year physical chemistry courses at Eckerd, freshman chemistry courses, and Eckerd's astronomy and astrobiology courses.

Dr. Hudson is currently on a leave-of-absence doing research at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center near Washington, DC

Present Positions:

Professor of Chemistry, Eckerd College
Visiting Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Astrochemistry Laboratory

Teaching Areas:

• Courses in physical chemistry, astrobiology, and astronomy
• Courses in introductory chemistry and in the history and methods of science
• Courses in Eckerd College's Honors Program (served as program's first director)

Research Areas:

Chemistry and physics of cosmic ices (cometary, icy satellite, and interstellar)
Radiation chemistry and photochemistry applied to astrochemical problems
Molecular spectroscopy, especially as applied to free radical structure and reactions

Education:

1978 - Ph.D., Physical Chemistry, University of Tennessee
1974 - A.B., Chemistry and Mathematics, Pfeiffer University (Misenheimer, NC)

Professional Societies:

• American Chemical Society: Chemical Education, Physical, and History Divisions
• Royal Society of Chemistry (U.K.): Education and Faraday Divisions
• American Astronomical Society: Division for Planetary Sciences
• American Geophysical Union
• Sigma Xi (Life Member)

Recent Professional Activities:

• Selected as a member of the astrobiology team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
• Manuscript reviewer for Journal of the American Chemical Society, Chemical Physics, Journal of Chemical Education, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Icarus, Spectrochemica Acta, Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets, and the Astrophysical Journal
• Proposal reviewer for NASA programs in planetary geology, exobiology, and planetary atmospheres
• Presentations at meetings of the American Astronomical Society (Planetary Sciences Division) in Monterey, Phoenix, Madison, Pasadena, Birmingham, and New Orleans
• Presentations at meetings of the Congress of Space Researchers (COSPAR) in Paris, Warsaw, and Houston
• Presentations at "Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors" meetings at Cornell University and Berlin
• Presentations at workshops on Kuiper-Belt objects (Paris), solid-state astrochemistry (Holland), space weathering (San Francisco), and solar-system ices (Maryland)

Selected Refereed Publications Since 2000:

"Infrared Spectra and Radiation Stability of H₂O₂ Ices Relevant to Europa", R. L. Hudson and M. H. Moore, 2006, Astrobiology, 6, 483-489

"Astrochemistry Examples in the Classroom", R. L. Hudson, 2006, Journal of Chemical Education, 83, 1611-1615

"Laboratory Evidence for Solid-Phase Protonation of HNCO in Interstellar Ices", R. L. Hudson, R. K. Khanna, and M. H. Moore, 2005, Astrophysical Journal - Supplement Series, 159, 277-281

"Laboratory Experiments on Cometary Materials", L. Colangeli, J. R. Brucato, A. Bar-Nun, R. L. Hudson, and M. H. Moore, 2005, Chapter in Comets II, University of Arizona Press.

"Reactions of Nitriles in Ices Relevant to Titan, Comets, and the Interstellar Medium: Formation of Cyanate Ion, Ketenimines, and Isonitriles", R. L. Hudson and M. H. Moore, 2004, Icarus 172, 466-478

"Ultraviolet Photolysis and Proton Irradiation of Astrophysical Ice Analogs Containing Hydrogen Cyanide", P. A. Gerakines, M. H. Moore, and R. L. Hudson, 2004, Icarus, 170, 204-213

"Radiation Products in Processed Ices Relevant to Edgeworth-Kuiper-Belt Objects", M. H. Moore, R. L. Hudson, and R. F. Ferrante, 2003, Earth, Moon, and Planets, 92, 291-306

"Solid-Phase Formation of Interstellar Vinyl Alcohol", R. L. Hudson and M. H. Moore, 2003, Astrophysical Journal, 586, L107-L110

"The N₃ Radical as a Discriminator Between Ion-Irradiated and UV-Photolyzed Astronomical Ices", R. L. Hudson and M. H. Moore, 2002, Astrophysical Journal, 568, 1095-1099

"Radiation Chemical Alterations in Solar System Ices: An Overview", R. L. Hudson and M. H. Moore, 2001, Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets, 106, 33275 - 33284

"The Formation of Cyanate Ion (OCN^-) in Interstellar Ice Analogs", R. L. Hudson, M. H. Moore, and P. A. Gerakines, 2001, Astrophysical Journal, 550, 1140 - 1150.

"Mid- and Far-Infrared Spectroscopic Studies of the Influence of Temperature and Ultraviolet Photolysis and Ion Irradiation on Cosmic-Type Ices", M. H. Moore, R. L. Hudson, and P. A. Gerakines, 2001, Spectrochimica Acta, 57, 843 - 858

"IR Spectra of Irradiated Cometary Ice Analogues Containing Methanol: A New Assignment, a Reassignment, and a Nonassignment" , R. L. Hudson and M. H. Moore, 2000, Icarus, 145, 661 - 663

"IR Detection of H₂O₂ at 80 K in Ion-Irradiated Laboratory Ices Relevant to Europa", M. H. Moore and R. L.Hudson, 2000, Icarus, 145, 282 - 288

"Carbonic Acid Production in H₂O:CO₂ Ices. UV Photolysis vs. Proton Bombardment", P. A. Gerakines, M. H. Moore, and R. L.Hudson, 2000, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 357, 793 - 800

"New Experiments and Interpretations Concerning the XCN Band in Interstellar Ice Analogues", R. L. Hudson and M. H. Moore, 2000, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 357, 787 - 792

Grant Support:

Teaching - Support from the NSF Instrumentation Program and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; numerous small internal grants from Eckerd College

Research - Continuous grant support from NASA for research from 1991 to the present; recent grant support from the NASA Astrobiology Program, as well as the Cassini Data Analysis, Planetary Geology and Geophysics, and Exobiology programs