@article{Photosynthetic:3430,
      recid = {3430},
      author = {Ting, Po-Chieh},
      title = {Excited-State Structures and Dynamics of Light Harvesting  Complexes in Photosynthetic Bacteria: How Novel  Spectroscopy Unveils Design Principles in Photosynthesis},
      publisher = {The University of Chicago},
      school = {Ph.D.},
      address = {2021-08},
      pages = {201},
      abstract = {Natural photosynthesis is the process of converting solar  light into chemical energy through a series of  photophysical and biochemical processes. Photosynthesis in  Nature is an ancient yet still vibrant process that  fascinates scientists by its delicacy in both its necessary  structural components and intricately coordinated  biochemical processes. Light harvesting processes, which  occurs in the first tens of femtoseconds (10^{−15} s) to  tens of picoseconds (10^{−12} s), involve capturing energy  from solar light and, through a series of photophysical  events, transferring to the reaction centers where  photochemical reactions take place. Throughout almost  three-quarters of Earth’s history, Nature has evolved a set  of design principles for optimizing photosynthetic light  harvesting efficiency among different species dwelling in  extremely different habitats. To this date, Nature still  leaves us with a lot of questions on detail mechanisms and  biological purposes of these design principles. In this  dissertation, we seek to answer the questions regarding the  design principles of excited state structures and dynamics  of natural light-harvesting complexes inside photosynthetic  organisms with a novel ultrafast spectroscopy. In  particular, we seek to achieve this goal by studying two  different light harvesting systems in two organisms, LH1  complex from purple bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides and  phycobilisomes from cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus  PCC 7942, with ultrafast two-dimensional electronic  spectroscopy (2DES). We present some of the first results  of 2DES in both LH1-only chromatophores and isolated  phycobilisomes, highlighting their hidden excited state  features and vibronic structures. We also seek to discuss  their implications on designing efficient light harvesting  machinery.},
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/3430},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.6082/uchicago.3430},
}