Spectroscopy is the method of choice in the determination of structure and function in chemical systems. Beyond the usual array of spectroscopic instrumentation (NMR, ESR, microwave, IR and Raman, UV/VIS, fluorescence, and X-Ray), many research groups in the Department are involved in the development of new methods of characterization and analysis of molecules in the gas and condensed phases. These include the development of nanostructures for optical sensing of chemical and biological transformations, determinations of the structures and dynamical properties of biologically relevant molecules using high resolution lasers, development of high resolution gas-phase separations of proteins and peptides based on ion mobility spectrometry, measuring distance constraints between two units on a macromolecule using pulsed ESR methods, new forms of spectroscopy for the detection of protein folding in real time, femtosecond laser studies of metal surfaces and semiconductor interfaces, and ab initio computations for the prediction of spectra and chiroptical phenomena in complex systems.