Center for Excitonics
Seminar Series Announcement
The Center for Excitonics has begun its seminar series of 2009 (
http://www.rle.mit.edu/excitonics).
We invite you to join us and to forward this information on to others who
might be interested in attending this and other seminars.
Title: The importance of excitons in the
science and technology of semiconductor nanocrystals
Presenter: Professor Moungi G. Bawendi
Organization: Department of Chemistry, MIT
Date: February 18, 2009
Time: 3:00 - 4:00pm
Place: 36-428
Refreshments: Yes
URL:
http://www.rle.mit.edu/excitonics/bawendi-021809.html
Abstract
The wish to understand and harness fundamental excitonic processes in
semiconductor nanocrystals (aka quantum dots)
has catalyzed much of the progress in the preparation of these nanoscale
building blocks. In particular, the size dependent
properties of excitons and multiexcitons in quantum dots, coupled with a
material that can be processed from solution, has
led to potential applications in fields that include emissive displays,
solar energy conversion, and biological and biomedical
fluorescence imaging. A fundamental understanding of exciton and
multiexcitonic processes is critical for any of these applications
to become realized. Synthesis of well characterized materials is also
obviously key, not only of the functional inorganic particle itself,
but also the ligand shell that protects it and couples it chemically to
molecules and matrices of interest. This talk will focus on the role
and properties of excitons and multiexcitons as drivers for understanding
the electronic structure of these nanocrystals and for motivating
their applications in both biological and opto-electronic areas.
Bio
Prof. Moungi Bawendi received his AB (1982) from Harvard University and
his PhD in chemistry (1988) from The University of Chicago, working with
Prof. Karl Freed and Prof. Takeshi Oka. His PhD research focused on the
theory of polymers and the experimental infrared spectroscopy of molecular
ions in the gas phase. This was followed by two years of postdoctoral
research at Bell Laboratories, working with Dr. Louis Brus, where he began
his studies on nanomaterials. Bawendi joined the faculty at MIT in 1990,
becoming associate professor in 1995 and professor in 1996. He has
followed an interdisciplinary research program that aims at probing the
science and technology of chemically synthesized nanocrystals of
semiconductor materials. His awards include MIT graduate and undergraduate
teaching awards (1994, 1997), the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in the
Physical Sciences (2001) for his work in nanotechnology, and the EO
Lawrence Award in Materials Chemistry from the US Department of Energy
(2006). He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (2003) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2004), and a
member of the National Academy of Sciences (2007).