Attosecond Electron Dynamics in Molecules presented by Mauro Nisoli, Politecnico di Milano

Abstract: The investigation of ultrafast processes initiated in molecules by light absorption is of crucial importance in various research areas, from molecular physics to chemistry and biology, from material science to technological applications. I will discuss how the use of attosecond techniques enables the investigation of a number of crucial processes, starting from the simplest molecule (H2) and moving towards more complex molecules, with particular attention on biologically relevant molecules.

Speaker: 

Mauro Nisoli is Full Professor with the Department of Physics, Politecnico di Milano, where he leads the Attosecond Research Center. His research activity is in the area of Attosecond Science and concerns the development of technologies for the generation of sub-femtosecond pulses and the application of these pulses to the investigation and control of ultrafast electronic dynamics in atoms, molecules, nanostructures and solid-state systems. He is co-author of about 200 research papers in international journals and of didactic books of Physics and Quantum Electronics.
 

Presentation on ultrafast processes in solids by Farhan Rana, Cornell University

Abstract: A variety of spectroscopy techniques have been developed over the years to record the ultrafast dynamics of elctrons, holes and spins, and of collective excitations, such as phonons, magnons, and plasmons, in solids. These techniques have used combinations of short optical, IR, or terahertz pulses to both excite matter and then probe the resulting non-equilibrium dynamics. This talk will introduce various ultrafast optical spectroscopy techniques, using exmaples form speaker’s own work on studying ultrafast dynamics in various materials, including two-dimensional materials, wide bandgap materials, and spintronic materials.

Speaker: 

Farhan Rana is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University.  He received the B.S., M.S. (1997), and Ph.D. (2003) degrees all in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Before starting the Ph.D., he worked at IBM's T. J.Watson Research Center on nanocrystal and quantum dot memory devices. He joined the faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY in 2003. He received the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award in 2008, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award in 2004, the ILX Lightwave faculty award in 2005, Cornell's Michael A. Tien Excellence in Teaching Award in 2006 and also in 2010, and the Gold Medal for Academic Performance by the Government of Pakistan. He has also received several best paper awards including the "Most Downloaded Paper" title in 2008 by the IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology. He previously served as Associate Director of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University.