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| Born 1960. |
| University of Chicago, B.S., 1982. |
| California Institute of Technology, PhD, 1989. |
| National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Chicago, 1989-1991; Postdoctoral Associate, 1991-1992. |
| University of Pennsylvania, Assistant Professor, 1992-1997. |
| The University of Chicago, Professor, 1997-. |
| Co-Director, Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, 1998-2002. |
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| Accolades |
| 2006 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowship. |
| 2003 Fellow, American Physical Society. |
1998 Invited Visiting Scholar, Irvine Materials Institute, University of California, Irvine, 1998. |
| 1997 Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. |
| 1996 Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. |
| 1994-1996 Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator. |
| 1993-1998 David and Lucile Packard Fellow. |
| 1993-1998 National Science Foundation National Young Investigator. |
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| Norbert F. Scherer |
| Professor |
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| Research Interests: |
| The common theme of our research is the direct time-domain study of chemical reactions and photophysical processes in condensed media, biomacromolecules and optically important materials. Our interest is in the elucidation of the microscopic dynamics of the system and the role of the bath on all relevant timescales for the chemical, biological and physical processes through development and application of new spectroscopic and simulation methods. |
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| Femtosecond Reactivity and Solvent Response to Chemical Reaction |
| Solvent plays an important role in chemical reactions by serving at various times as an energy source, a frictional drag, or a bath to stabilize reaction products. Our studies of reactive processes initiated and probed with femtosecond pulses ranging from the far-IR to the near UV reveal oscillations resulting from impulsively excited nuclear wavepacket motion of vibrations coupled to the reactive coordinate, as well as rapid product formation and relaxation. Systems under investigation include organic, inorganic and metallo-protein charge–transfer molecules, excitation localization in polymers and photo-induced "switches" in proteins. A complementary objective is the detection of the solvent´s response to chemical reactions by way of new multiple-pulse Raman methods and terahertz (FIR) spectroscopies. We have developed 2-D polarization response spectroscopy (2-D PORS) to examine the instantaneous spectrum of solvent motions coupled to reaction at various times after the reaction commences. |
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| Coherence Spectroscopy of Complex Systems |
| Photon echo techniques are being developed and employed to uncover the interactions between a chromophore and the surrounding solvent, the evolution of coherence in chemical reactions, and the fluctuations occurring within proteins. Application of these techniques to the photosynthetic reaction center of cyano-bacteria is revealing details of the protein´s role in the fast energy and electron transfer processes. A second direction of inquiry combines experimental characterization of the complete complex electric field of pulses in linear and nonlinear spectroscopies with correlation function finite difference time domain (CF-FDTD) simulations. These comparisons, initially developed to address ultrafast mid-IR measurements of water, are providing new insight into the proper description of matter–radiation interaction with coherent and incoherent light. The approach facilitates the study of dephasing onto the timescale of a few cycles of the pulse electric field. |
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| Single Molecule Biomolecular Dynamics |
| Many biological processes occur on microsecond to seconds timescales that are accessible to single molecule and correlation spectroscopy methods. Furthermore, characterization of single molecule dynamics allows studying distributions and heterogeneous behavior that is otherwise averaged in ensemble experiments. We are elucidating mechanisms of RNA folding and protein conformational change by fluorescence measurements and the nano-mechanics of poly-protein assemblies by dynamic force measurements. Stochastic simulation methods are being developed to aid experimental interpretation. Novel microscopies are under development to facilitate the study of macromolecular dynamics in vivo. |
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| Nanoscale Optics: Plasmonics |
| Dynamics of "light" transport and localization in 2-dimensional plasmonic bandgap structures are under investigation. These materials are fabricated by self-assembly or e-beam lithography or combinations thereof of nanoscale features on thin noble metal films. Optically addressable/switchable plasmonic circuits are under development. Measurement and integration with femtosecond laser pulses is another unique aspect of the research. Scanning probe methods (i.e. STM, AFM, NSOM) are essential for nanoscale characterization and manipulation and are well represented in several labs in the group. Simulation and modeling by FDTD methods complement the experiments. |
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| Selected References |
| Nanometer-Localized Multiple
Single Molecule Fluorescence
Microscopy. P.N.A.S., 101, 11298 (2004). |
| Thermally-Induced Formation of
Atomic Au Clusters and Conversion
into Nanocubes. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 126, 9900 (2004). |
| Single Molecule Studies Highlight
Conformational Heterogeneity in
the Early Folding Steps of a Large
Ribozyme. P.N.A.S., 101, 534 (2004). |
| Imaging Scanning Tunneling
Microscope-induced
Electroluminescence in Plasmonic
Corrals. Appl. Phys. Lett., 84, 1257 (2004). |
| Finite-difference Time-domain Simulation of Ultrashort Pulse Propagation Incorporating Quantum–Mechanical Response Functions. Optics Lett. 28, 573 (2003). |
| Solvent Intermolecular Polarizability Response in Solvation. J. Chem. Phys. 118, 3917 (2003). |
| Ultrafast Interferometric Measurements of Plasmonic Transport in Photonic Crystals. Optics Lett. 27, 857 (2002). |
| The Vibrational Spectrum of the Hydrated Proton: Comparison of Experiment, Simulation, and Normal Mode Analysis. J. Chem. Phys. 116, 737 (2002). |
| Exciton Delocalization and Initial Dephasing Dynamics of Purple Bacterial LH2. J Phys. Chem. B 118, 8295 (2000). |
| Wavelength-Resolved Stimulated Photon Echoes: Direct Observation of Ultrafast Intramolecular Vibrational Contributions to Electronic Dephasing. J. Chem. Phys. 111, 792 (1999). |
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Physical Chemistry 