This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Eric Olaf Potma of the University of California, Irvine, is supported by an award from the Experimental Physical Chemistry program to develop a coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscope with super-resolution. Development of this microscope will enable chemically selective imaging with a resolution down to the 50 nm length scale, opening up new areas in optical imaging of biological samples and engineered materials. The instrument will be used to study the nonlinear optical response of metallic nanowires, and to examine the distribution of sub-micrometer sized lipids droplets in breast cancer cells.
This work may lead to the development of methods that to better examine samples with microscopic and nanoscopic details. The investigator is also committed to utilize advanced instruments for the purpose of fostering enthusiasm for physical chemistry among high school students. An annual 4-week Summer School will be held, in which high school students have the opportunity to attend college-style lectures and participate in high-end research experiments.
