Nobel laureate considers the mysteries of time
Posted on 29 October 2009
Professor Ahmed H. Zewail was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999 for his pioneering work in the use of laser technology to study chemical reactions at the atomic level over miniscule time periods.
This field, known as femtochemistry, has had a profound effect in both chemistry and biology, contributing to the creation of new materials and providing new insights into the way the human body works.
Professor Zewail, who is Linus Pauling Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology and an advisor to President Barack Obama, will use his lecture to examine how humankind has benefited from the miracles of time and been baffled by its mysteries.
He will review the history of attempts to photograph moving objects, explain how he overcame the major obstacles to creating images of events taking place over a tiny fraction of a second and consider the exciting developments femtochemistry has brought within reach.
Before his lecture, on 30 October, Professor Zewail will be visiting the York JEOL Nanocentre which is co-hosting his visit with the Department of Chemistry. He will see presentations of research by students from the Nanocentre and the Departments of Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Electronics.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The York JEOL Nanocentre, led by Co-Directors Professor Pratibha Gai, JEOL and Yorkshire Forward Professor of Electron Microscopy and Nanotechnology, and Professor Edward Boyes, opened in April 2007 in purpose built accommodation on the York Science Park. The inter-interdisciplinary research and teaching Nanocentre is sponsored by the University of York, Yorkshire Forward, through them the European Union Regional Development Fund, and by scientific instruments supplier JEOL. www.york.ac.uk/res/nanocentre/
- The Department of Chemistry which was ranked among the top ten in the country in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. More information about the department and the Centre can be found at www.york.ac.uk/chemistry/.
- Professor Zewail’s lecture is fully booked but it is just one of a host of public lectures on a wide range of subjects arranged by the University. A complete list of University events is available at http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/.
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