Dr. Pederson's research is in chemical physics, condensed-matter physics, and computational physics. He has continuously concentrated on next-generation computing paradigms for quantum mechanics. Dr. Pederson’s pioneering work demonstrated the quantitative computational prediction of quantum tunneling of magnetization (QTM) and spin-electric effects in molecular magnets. Both of these different collective phenomena arise from the spin of the electron. Quantitatively understanding conditions that allows for such coherent phenomena, is necessary from the standpoint of spin-Qubit design in quantum information science and may also unlock the mysteries of bio-navigation. He is currently attempting to link the fields of molecular magnetism and photocatalytic water splitting by demonstrating that variations in QTM, in reacting systems, can be used to spectroscopically sense conversion of water into oxygen and hydrogen without pumping energy into the system. Dr. Pederson is the primary author of a computer code, the Naval Research Laboratory Molecular Orbital Library (NRLMOL), that describes how nanoscale systems interact with electromagnetic radiation. The opportunity to concentrate on developing this code over a long period has enabled these unique computational investigations and predictions.