Information
Colloquia of Physics Department are suspended for the period of quarantine.
Prof. dr. Petra Rudolf (coordinator of the group ‘Surfaces and Thin Films’, ZIAM-Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials; Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Netherlands) will give a colloquium titled “Molecular Motors and Switches at Surfaces”, on 29th April, at 15:00. The colloquium is organised by the Department of Physics at IST (DF-IST),
Abstract
Molecular motors and switches form the basis of many important biological processes. In contrast to these solutions chosen by Nature for achieving complex tasks, mankind’s present day technologies function exclusively through their static or equilibrium properties. On can therefore easily anticipate that the controlled movement of molecules or parts of molecules offers unprecedented technological possibilities for the future.
In this presentation I shall show how to build molecular engines that allow movements at the molecular level to be coupled to the macroscopic world, e.g. to transport macroscopic objects like drops of liquid over a surface. I shall also discuss self-assembled monolayers of switches that can be addressed with light and charge transfer and demonstrate how such systems can be employed for “read and write” functions.
Venue: Mathematics building, floor -1, PA1 amphitheatre.
