Colloquium with Dr. Mazi Jalaal (UVA) and Dennis van de Lockand (VU Amsterdam)
12:30 - 12:50 Dennis van de Lockand, PhD candidate, Biophoto nics & Medical Imaging, VU Amsterdam
Title : Femto- to picosecond time-resolved infrared photother mal imaging.
Abstract: The talk will focu s on a developed pump-probe scheme where samples are excited via femt osecond near and mid-infrared pulses of various frequencies after whi ch their response is imaged in time (up to tens of nanoseconds) using widefield off-axis holography. These experiments give us more insigh t on the vibrational dynamics that happen instantly after excitation and couples this to the thermal dynamics that occur after. From these dynamics we can then determine certain parameters like molecular com position and sample stiffness. So a little bit of fundamental science and a little bit of practical application.
12:50 -13:4 5 Dr. Mazi Jalaal, Associate Professor at Van der Waals-Zeeman Instit ute (Institute of Physics), Universiteit van Amsterdam
Title: Light and Mechanics in Living Matter
Abstract: Light sustains life, but it can also damage it; forcing living systems to sense, process, and respond to l ight across multiple timescales. In this talk, I will show how chloro plasts, the photosynthetic organelles of plants and algae, form dense , interacting assemblies whose collective behavior is governed by phy sical principles rather than purely biochemical control. Combining ex periments and theory, we reveal chloroplasts as active matter in conf inement, exhibiting glassy dynamics, mechanical interactions, and mem ory effects. In bioluminescent dinoflagellates, chloroplasts organize into a reticulated network that behaves as a biological metamaterial , enabling large, reversible deformations under strong confinement an d rapid adaptation to changing light conditions. These results positi on living cells as programmable physical systems and raise questions that cut across disciplines: from biology and soft-matter physics to photonics, physical chemistry, and emerging concepts of memory and le arning in living matter.
DESCRIPTION: Colloquium with Dr. Mazi Jalaal (UVA) and Dennis van de L ockand (VU Amsterdam) 12:30 - 12:50 Dennis van de Lockand, Ph D candidate, Biophotonics & Medical Imaging, VU AmsterdamTitle: Femto- to picosecond time-resolved infr ared photothermal imaging.Abstract: The talk wi ll focus on a developed pump-probe scheme where samples are excited v ia femtosecond near and mid-infrared pulses of various frequencies af ter which their response is imaged in time (up to tens of nanoseconds ) using widefield off-axis holography. These experiments give us more insight on the vibrational dynamics that happen instantly after exci tation and couples this to the thermal dynamics that occur after. Fro m these dynamics we can then determine certain parameters like molecu lar composition and sample stiffness. So a little bit of fundamental science and a little bit of practical application.12:50 -13:4 5 Dr. Mazi Jalaal, Associate Professor at Van der Waals-Zeeman Instit ute (Institute of Physics), Universiteit van Amsterdam