STARTING SHORTLY: ICTP Colloquium by Prof. Petra Rudolf on "Molecular Motors and Switches at Surfaces " in Budinich Lecture Hall

[ICTP/infopoint]

ICTP is pleased to announce that the forthcoming ICTP Colloquium on  
"Molecular Motors and Switches at Surfaces" by Professor Petra Rudolf, 
University of Groningen, The Netherlands,  will take place on Monday 4 
November 2019 at 16:30 hrs, in the Budinich Lecture Hall, Leonardo 
Building, ICTP.
*
Biosketch: *Petra Rudolf was born in Munich, Germany. She studied 
Physics at the La Sapienza, University of Rome, where she specialized in 
Solid State Physics. In 1987 she joined the National Surface Science 
laboratory TASC INFM in Trieste for the following five years, 
interrupted by two extended periods in 1989 and 1990/1991 at Bell Labs 
in the USA, where she started to work on the newly discovered 
fullerenes. In 1993 she moved to the University of Namur, Belgium where 
she received her PhD in 1995 and then quickly moved from postdoctoral 
researcher to lecturer and senior lecturer before taking up the Chair in 
Experimental Solid State Physics at the University in Groningen in 2003. 
Her principal research interests lie in the areas of condensed matter 
physics and surface science, particularly molecular motors, 2D solids, 
organic thin films and inorganic-organic hybrids. Dr. Rudolf is the 
President of the European Physical Society; she was the President of the 
Belgian Physical Society in 2000/2001 and was elected member of the 
German Academy of Science and Engineering,honorary member of the Italian 
Physical Society, Fellow of the Institute of Physics, "Lid van 
verdienst" of the Dutch Physical Society and Fellow of the American 
Physical Society. For her work on molecular motors she received the 2007 
Descartes Prize of the European Commission. In 2013 she was appointed 
Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau by H.M. Queen Beatrix of the 
Netherlands.
*
Abstract: *Nano-engines and molecular motors form the basis of nearly 
every important biological process. In contrast to this solution chosen 
by Nature for achieving complex tasks, all of mankind's present day 
technologies function exclusively through their static or equilibrium 
properties. One can therefore easily anticipate that the controlled 
movement of molecules or parts of molecules offers unprecedented 
technological possibilities for the future. In this presentation I shall 
illustrate how introducing new concepts like incorporating a ratchet 
mechanism, allows for the creation of molecular engines that transcend 
simple switches. I shall discuss how to build molecular engines that 
allow movements at the molecular level to be coupled to the macroscopic 
world, e.g., to transport macroscopic objects like drops of liquid over 
a surface. Another example are molecular systems that can be triggered 
to form spontaneously functional structures with a well-defined position 
on surfaces. I shall discuss molecular switches, which can be addressed 
with light and charge transfer and show that such systems can be 
employed for “read and write” functions.

The information is available at http://indico.ictp.it/event/8985/

The Colloquium will be livestreamed at ictp.it/livestream

Light refreshments will be served after the talk.

You are all very warmly invited to attend.

With best regards,

Office of the Director, ICTP


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