Speaker: Professor Graham R. Fleming of the Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, and the Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The sun is a dilute energy source and natural photosynthesis concentrates the solar excitation by means of large “antenna” systems connected to a reaction center which initiates the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy The understanding of the design principles at work in natural photosynthetic light harvesting has advanced substantially in recent years.  Progress has been made at the microscopic level, in particular revealing the existence of long-lived quantum coherence and, at the system level, in constructing a microscopically based model for the regulation of light harvesting in response to variations in solar flux.  In this talk, I will summarize the recent progress and briefly suggest ideas for applications to synthetic systems.

[1]. Lessons from nature about solar light harvesting, G. D. Scholes, G. R. Fleming, A. Olaya-Castro and R.van Grondelle. Nature Chemistry, 3, 763 (2011).

Attendance is free and all are welcome but space will be limited so you are advised to come early.