Event

Franklin NextGen Award Seminar

Gabriela S. Schlau-Cohen

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Why don’t plants get sunburn?

Photosynthesis powers most life on Earth. In green plants, excess absorbed energy, i.e., sunny days, can damage the photosynthetic machinery. Plants have evolved a feedback loop that triggers photoprotective energy dissipation in the chlorophyll-containing light-harvesting proteins. In solar energy, fluctuations in sunlight give rise to a well-known “intermittency problem.” Photoprotective dissipation solves this problem in nature, yet its inefficiencies limit biomass yields. Simulations suggest targeted and specific optimization would improve yields by up to 30%, but such efforts require an improved mechanistic understanding. Open questions include the number and location of dissipation sites, the photophysical pathway of dissipation, and the (re)organization of the plant membrane. We use single-molecule spectroscopy, ultrafast spectroscopy, and statistical thermodynamic modeling to address all three of these questions. Collectively, our multi-timescale spectroscopic approach elucidates the multi-timescale dynamics that allow plants to flourish in natural environments. 
 

Bio

Gabriela Schlau-Cohen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at MIT. She received a B.S. in Chemical Physics from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University. In 2015, she joined the faculty of MIT. Her research group uses single-molecule spectroscopy and ultrafast spectroscopy to explore the energetic and structural dynamics of biological and bio-inspired systems, particularly photosynthetic light harvesting. Dr. Schlau-Cohen’s work has been recognized with awards including the ACS Pure Chemistry Award, the NIH New Innovator Award, and the Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award.

Attend Virtually: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/94238084080 

2024 Franklin Laureates: https://www.inquirer.com/science/franklin-institute-science-awards-200th-anniversary-20240130.html?query=the%20franklin%20institute