Professor of Chemistry
Melvin Calvin Distinguished Professor
email: fleming@cchem.berkeley.edu
alternate email: grfleming@lbl.gov
office: 221 Hildebrand
phone: 510.643.2735
fax: 510.642.6340
lab: B77 Hildebrand
lab phone: 510.643.7609
Research Interests
Chemical and Biological Dynamics in the Condensed Phase — Ultrafast Spectroscopy combined with theory and simulation is used to investigate many-body dynamics in liquids, solutions, glasses, and proteins, especially photosynthetic proteins
Our group uses and develops advanced multidimensional ultrafast spectroscopic methods to study complex systems such as natural photosynthetic complexes, liquids, solution, and nanoscale systems such as single-walled carbon nanotubes.
In natural photosynthetic systems we aim to define the design principles underlying their remarkable .quantum efficiencies, and to use these principles to aid in the design of robust and efficient artificial photosynthetic devices. Natural systems are also regulated in response to external conditions, such as light levels, and one of the key components of Photosystem II is regularly repaired. We plan to understand the control system at the molecular level by combining molecular genetics biochemistry, modeling, and ultrafast spectroscopy through collaboration with Professor K. K. Niyogi. We have recently shown, using two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy, that long lived electronic quantum coherence exists in photosynthetic light harvesting complexes. We are exploring the implications of quantum coherence for photosynthesis and for quantum information science.
The electronic properties and excited state dynamics of nanoscale materials with significant quantum confinement effects yield a rich range of properties and potential applications. We aim to understand these properties with a particular current emphasis on single-walled carbon nanotubes via non-linear ultrafast spectroscopy and theoretical modeling.
The modern theoretical description of photochemical processes, in particular what determines which products are formed, has at its core relaxation through conical intersections. Yet very little experimental information is available on such processes. Two dimensional electronic spectroscopy has the potential to provide a window into these processes and experiments to explore conical intersection dynamics are under development.
Ultrafast multidimensional electronic spectroscopy is in its infancy with many potential ways to enhance resolution, sharpen the information content and extract specific dynamical pathways (e.g., those that involve only coherence). My group continues to develop new spectroscopic methods and the theoretical tools for their analysis.
Biography
Professor of Chemistry and Director, Berkeley, Institute for Quantitative Bioscience (QB3). Born 1949; B Sc.(Honours) Chemistry, Bristol University, UK, 1971; Ph.D. Physical Chemistry, University of London, UK, 1974; Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology, USA, 1974-75; University Research Fellow, University of Melbourne, Australia, 1975-76; Leverhulme Fellow, Royal Institute, UK, 1977-79; University of Chicago: Assistant Professor, 1979-83; Associate Professor, 1983-85; Professor, 1985-87; Arthur Holly Compton Distinquished Service Professor, 1987-97; Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1991; Fellow, Royal Society of London, 1994; Inter-American Photochemical Society Award, 1996; Centenary Lecture and Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry, 1996; Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 1998; Harrision Howe Award in Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 1999; Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy, American Physical Society, 2002; Sierra Nevada Distinguished Chemist Award, 2003; The Porter Medal, European Photochemistry Association, 2004; Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science and Technology, American Chemical Society, 2008; Member, National Academy of Science 2007