The American Physical Society has named Professor Anne B. McCoy as the recipient of the 2026 Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy & Dynamics “for impactful contributions to the anharmonic vibrational spectroscopy and dynamics of molecular radicals, ions, and clusters.” Molecular spectroscopy and dynamics are foundational work that enable predictive control of molecular behavior, driving advances across chemistry, physics, and materials science.
The prize will be presented to McCoy at the APS Global Physics Summit, the world’s largest physics research conference, taking place in Denver in March 2026. Established in 1976 in memory of pioneering infrared and molecular spectroscopist Earle K. Plyler, the prize is now sponsored by The Journal of Chemical Physics.
Work in the McCoy research group focuses on the development of theoretical and computational approaches for predicting and interpreting vibrational spectra, and using insights gained from these studies to better understand how the measured spectra reflect underlying structure and dynamics. Much of McCoy’s work has explored hydrogen bonding. In collaboration with experimental research groups, McCoy and her students have studied how the solvation environment affects proton transfer processes. These processes are important in many chemical contexts, and the work attempts to enhance our understanding at a molecular level. Recently, this work has expanded from studies that focus on protonated systems to complexes of hydroxide and other anions with water molecules.
McCoy joined the UW faculty in 2015 after starting her independent research program at the Ohio State University in 1994. She is a fellow of the American Physical Society (2007), the American Chemical Society (2009), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2011). She was elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences in 2019 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2025. At the University of Washington, McCoy is the Natt-Lingafelter Professor of Chemistry and chair of the Elected Faculty Council.
Congratulations, Prof. McCoy, on this honor!