Chemical Microscopy Group

Our research focuses on the chemical physics of nanoscale objects. We employ a variety of optical techniques to reveal the dynamics, transport processes, and emissive properties of different chromophores at the limit of single molecules, where the heterogeneity of ensemble measurements can be circumvented.

In particular, we are interested in the characteristics of photons emitted from highly structured chromophores. These include hybrid quantum dot/organic nanostructures, which display novel emission characteristics different from both the nanocrystal and organic moieties, and helicenes, whose rigid helical structure results in well-defined and large-magnitude differential absorption of circularly polarized light.

We employ techniques such as laser spectroscopy, time-resolved single photon counting, and atomic force microscopy to relate the emission characteristics of single emitters to nanoscale structure and function.