Professor Gaffney leads a research team focused on femtosecond resolution measurements of chemical dynamics in complex condensed phase systems. This research takes advantage of recent advances in ultrafast x-ray lasers, like the LCLS at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, to directly observe chemical reactions on the natural time and length scales of the chemical bond – femtoseconds and Ångströms. This research focuses on the discovery of design principles for controlling the non-equilibrium dynamics of electronic excited states and using these principles to spark new approaches to light-driven catalysis in chemical synthesis.