How biological molecules harness and control light energy is fundamental to life. In photosynthesis, elaborate antenna arrays gather solar energy and transfer it to photochemical reaction centers with 95% efficiency. An essential part of understanding nature’s underlying design principles is making the connection between structure and dynamics. Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) can help make these connections... read more here

Today’s microscopes usually use artificial labels to identify and study the role of particular molecular species in cellular function. Labels can be difficult to apply, toxic, or modify the behavior of the system being studied. A better solution would be to use physical properties of the molecules themselves to reveal their part in cellular function. We routinely use nonlinear spectroscopies for molecular identification and for probing molecular environments. By bringing these powerful techniques to the microscope we obviate the need for labeling and tap into rich and novel modes of molecular contrast.. read more here