Single-Molecule Spectroscopy with Catalysts, Conductive Polymers, and Optical Micro Resonators

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences presents professor Randall Goldsmith from the University of Wisconsin Madison. His lecture on "Single-Molecule Spectroscopy with Catalysts, Conductive Polymers, and Optical Micro resonators" will be at 3:30 p.m., Monday, Aug. 27, in the Chemistry Building, room 144.

Goldsmith's lecture will cover how measurements on individual molecules have revolutionized how chemists can perceive molecular properties and dynamics, yet single-molecule techniques can only be applied with considerable experimental constraints. The Goldsmith group develops new tools through chemical synthesis, micro and nanophotonics, and microfluidics that allow single-molecule techniques to be applied in previously inaccessible scenarios and enable new measurements. He will discuss recent measurements on the initiation of individual organometallic catalysts, observation of single-molecule binding dynamics at millimolar concentrations, detecting the heat dissipated from molecules using optical microresonators, hybrid photonic-plasmonic systems, and spectroscopy on individual conductive polymer molecules.

Randall Goldsmith completed undergraduate degrees in chemistry and biology (2002) at Cornell University. He received his Ph.D at Northwestern University (2008) studying photoinduced electron transfer under the direction of professors Michael Wasielewski and Mark Ratner, and performed postdoctoral work at Stanford University with professor W.E. Moerner, where he became profoundly convinced that molecules deserve to be looked at one at a time. He has been a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin Madison since 2011, where his research interests span single-molecule spectroscopy, micro and nanophotonics, chemical catalysis, photochemistry, and biophysics.  His work has been recognized with a DARPA young faculty award, NSF CAREER award, Alzheimer's Association Young Faculty Award, Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, and Journal of Physical Chemistry Lectureship Award.

About the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences: Fulbright College is the largest and most academically diverse unit on campus with 19 departments and more than 30 academic programs and research centers. The college provides the core curriculum for all University of Arkansas students and is named for J. William Fulbright, former university president and longtime U.S. senator.