Introduction to Symmetry and Group Theory for Chemists pdf

Arthur Mallay Lesk, is a protein science researcher, who is a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Pennsylvania State University in University Park. Lesk received a bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University in 1961. He received his doctoral degree from Princeton University in 1966. He also received a master's degree from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom in 1999. Lesk has made significant contributions to the study of protein evolution. He and Cyrus Chothia, working at the Medical Research Council (UK) Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, United Kingdom, discovered the relationship between changes in amino-acid sequence and changes in protein structure by analyzing the mechanism of evolution in protein families.This discovery has provided the quantitative basis for the most successful and widely used method of structure prediction, known as homology modelling.

Introduction to Symmetry and Group Theory for Chemists pdf by Arthur Mallay Lesk

This book presents to students of introductory physical chemistry the basic principles of symmetry and group theory, and their use in describing and predicting molecular structure and spectra. Symmetry is a crucial determinant of many chemical phenomena, and group theory is the grammar of the language of symmetry. In many cases, simple calculations suffice to explain why certain triatomic molecules are linear and others bent, or why certain transitions do not appear in molecular spectra. In this book, the aim is understanding the ideas, and skills in application of the principles, rather than mathematical rigour. The book is intended as a supplement for students who want to follow up an interest in and recognition of the importance of group theory, and who seek a short and mathematically relatively undemanding introduction. Exercises appearing throughout the text are integrated with the presentation to give readers confidence in their assimilation of the material.