Hybrid
Why don’t plants get sunburn?
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225 Prospect Street New Haven, CT 06511
Please join Yale Chemistry for a Silliman Seminar in Physical Chemistry with Gabriela Schlau-Cohen, Robert T. Haslam and Bradley Dewey Professor of Chemistry from MIT.
Abstract: Photosynthesis powers most life on Earth. When light levels fluctuate from weather and shadows, excess absorbed energy under sunny conditions can damage the photosynthetic machinery. Such fluctuations give rise to a well-known solar “intermittency problem.” In plants, photoprotective energy dissipation solves this problem, yet inefficiencies in its implementation limit crop yields by up to 30%. Open questions include the number and location of dissipation sites, the photophysical pathway of dissipation, and the (re)organization of the plant membrane. We have developed spectroscopic methods with expanded spectral range and/or temporal resolution, allowing us to address all three of these questions. Using a combination of single-molecule spectroscopy, ultrafast spectroscopy, and statistical thermodynamic modeling, we introduce a multi-timescale spectroscopic approach that elucidates the multi-scale dynamics that plants leverage to flourish in their natural environments.
Gabriela Schlau-Cohen is the Haslam-Dewey Professor of Chemistry at at MIT. She received a B.S. in Chemical Physics from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University. In 2015, she joined the faculty of MIT. Her research group uses single-molecule spectroscopy and ultrafast spectroscopy to explore the energetic and structural dynamics of biological and bio-inspired systems, particularly photosynthetic light harvesting. Dr. Schlau-Cohen’s work has been recognized with awards including the ACS Pure Chemistry Award, the NIH New Innovator Award, and the Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award. For more information on Prof. Schlau-Cohen's research: The Schlau-Cohen Lab.
Hosted by Prof. Eric Arsenault.
Sponsored by the Mrs. Hepsa Ely Silliman Memorial Fund.