Irene Burghardt Livres

The role of quantum coherence in enhancing the efficiency of the initial stages of photosynthesis remains a compelling question. The design of functional biomaterials is a significant challenge that fosters collaboration across biology, materials science, electronics, and other fields. Current advancements in organic photovoltaics, molecular electronics, and biomimetic research—such as artificial light-harvesting systems inspired by photosynthesis—are noteworthy. Materials scientists can draw from Nature's 3.8 billion years of evolution to innovate in light-harvesting and electro-optical applications. Understanding nano-structured functional materials requires insights from molecular physics, chemistry, and biology, as energy and charge transfer processes exhibit similarities to molecular phenomena revealed by ultrafast optical spectroscopies. Initially designed for small molecular species, these spectroscopies have become essential for monitoring ultrafast dynamics in complex biological and materials systems. The molecular phenomena involved are often quantum mechanical, featuring tunneling, non-Born-Oppenheimer effects, and quantum-mechanical phase coherence.