PRISM project uses computational chemistry to research new electronics technology

This summer, Ashley Seiders '25 and Ben Benke '26 worked with Dr. Ben Topham on a computational chemistry PRISM project related to single molecule electronics.

The field of molecular electronics is set to transform the electronics industry. Single molecule electronics are an emerging technology and can be used to make electronic devices that are smaller, more powerful and efficient.

Using computer software and computational modeling, Seiders and Benke designed molecules then calculated the electrical current through them to better understand single molecule device performance.

"It's essentially a circuit and that has lots of potential applications," said Benke, a physics/pre-engineering major with a minor in chemistry. "It can be a switch, a diode, or a lot of small components that, with enough of them and with a good design, you can make into essentially whatever."

PRISM is Longwood's 8-week summer research program for students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The program pairs a faculty member with a student or a pair of students working one-on-one on a research project.

Seiders, who is a biology major with a pre-med concentration, said she applied to be part of the program to broaden her knowledge outside of her major.

"Computational chemistry was 100 percent new to me in January when we started learning about this," she said. "It's something new and interesting to learn and it pushed me to think a little bit differently and work on critical thinking."

Seiders and Benke said getting the opportunity to work one-on-one with a professor was a very different experience compared to their regular lab classes during the semester. Benke said he liked having the freedom to "guide where we go and choose what we do" with their research.

"Dr. Topham was really great in asking me why I think we got a certain result and forcing me to think through those things instead of just telling me," Seiders said.