BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Water first. It's true.
DTSTART:20170912T171500
DTSTAMP:20260408T025850Z
UID:6d1cfea9daf0a57aa1e6af3200587a57d579205d9149c1404623d9b3
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Sylvie Roke\, Institute of Bioengineering and Institute 
 of Materials Science and Engineering\, EPFL\nINAUGURAL LECTURE\n\nAbstract
 :\nWater is the most important liquid for life. It is intimately linked to
  our well-being. Without water\, cell membranes cannot function. Charges a
 nd charged groups cannot be dissolved\, self-assembly cannot occur\, and p
 roteins cannot fold. Apart from the intimate link with life\, water also s
 hapes the earth and our climate. Our landscape is formed by slow eroding/d
 issolving processes of rocks in river and sea water\; aerosols and rain dr
 ops provide a means of transport of water. Water (H2O) is a molecule with 
 only three atoms. In liquid water there is a hydrogen bonding network that
  originates from the interactions of H atoms with neighboring O atoms from
  other water molecules. This network reorganizes itself on the femtosecond
  (10-15 s) time scale and leads to transient liquid structuring on the nan
 oscale. Because of its complexity\, the relationship between the unique pr
 operties of water and its structure have not been solved. Techniques that 
 can provide femtosecond structural information over multiple length scales
  can help. To do so\, we developed nonlinear light scattering and imaging 
 tools to access molecular structural information of aqueous solutions and 
 interfaces.\n\nWith these methods we have found nanoscale ordering in dilu
 te salt solutions\, and probe the structure of aqueous nanoscopic interfac
 es relevant for biology: lipid droplets\, liposomes and water droplets. Th
 e optical properties of water can also be used to determine the electrical
  potential (voltage) of interfaces. This unique readout is useful for chem
 istry\, neurology and device characterization. Apart from giving an overvi
 ew of the field and our findings\, I will also pay attention to how surpri
 sing the roads toward scientific discovery can sometimes be. \n\nProgram:
 \n- Introduction by Prof. Matthias Lutolf\, Director of the Interfaculty I
 nstitute of Bioengineering\n- Inaugural Lecture of Sylvie Roke: "Water fir
 st. It's true."\n\nPlease register here: http://go.epfl.ch/roke\n\nBio:\nS
 ylvie Roke obtained B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees with highest honors in chemist
 ry (2000) and physics (2000) from Utrecht University and a Ph.D. degree in
  natural sciences from Leiden University (2004\, highest honors). In 2005 
 she was awarded a floating independent research group leader (W2) position
  by the Max Planck Society. In 2011 she moved to EPFL\, where she holds th
 e Julia Jacobi Chair in Photomedicine. She received the Minerva Prize (200
 6)\, the Hertha Sponer Prize (2008)\, an ERC Starting Grant (2009)\, and a
 n ERC Consolidator Grant (2014). Her research focuses on understanding aqu
 eous systems\, interfaces\, soft matter\, and biological systems by using 
 and developing a variety of novel spectroscopic and imaging methods.\n\n 
LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717
STATUS:CONFIRMED
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR