TcSUH
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Bi-Weekly Seminar
Finding the Key to the High Tc Puzzle
by: Prof. Young Kim
Date: Friday September 14, 2007
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Houston Science Center – Building 593 — Room 102
Overview
The high-Tc puzzle remains unsolved despite extensive experimental collection of the puzzle pieces over the past two decades. Granted, this could be due to the complexity of the problem, but it could also be very likely that some key building blocks might have been overlooked as they were hidden behind various experiments on different high temperature superconducting materials and, therefore, too subtle to be recognized. In order to solve this puzzle, we have re-searched the key pieces in hand and put them together to bring about a coherent picture that captures the essential physics of high Tc superconductivity.
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Bi-Weekly Seminar
Quench Propagation Analysis in MgB2 Superconducting Magnets
by: Matteo Alessandrini
Date: Friday August 17, 2007
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Houston Science Center – Building 593 — Room 102
Overview
Reliability and durability of high temperature superconducting magnets depends on our knowledge of their behavior during a quench. Simulation of quench propagation and voltage growth along composite MgB2 superconducting wires are presented by taking into account sharing current and temperature dependence of heat capacity, thermal conductivity and resistivity. A description will be given of our recently developed testing facility for quench propagation studies in MgB2 superconducting magnets. Finally some of the latest results on large bore solenoids will be presented and discussed.
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Bi-Weekly Seminar
Single Molecule Studies of Disease-Related Biological Processes
by: Christy Landes
Date: Friday August 03, 2007
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Houston Science Center – Building 593 — Room 102
Overview
Biological processes are often heterogeneous. Single molecule spectroscopy allows us to distinguish between multiple pathways in disease progression or drug/pathogen interactions. Thus, it is possible to identify, for example, which steps are most amenable to drug therapy. The experimental technique is especially powerful when combined with simulations in which we model processes such as protein-nucleic acid binding. I will discuss the recent progress in our group using single molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (SMFRET) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to study retroviral chaperone steps and model macular degeneration inhibitor
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Bi-Weekly Seminar
Optical and Electronic Properties of Zn4Sb3 Thermoelectrics
by: Dr. Alexander P. Litvinchuk
Date: Friday July 20, 2007
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Houston Science Center – Building 593 — Room 102
Overview
We will report on an experimental study of optical and electronic properties of Zn4Sb3, an excellent thermoelectric material, across the structural ß-α transition using optical techniques. The phase transition from highly disordered high temperature ß phase into low symmetry ordered &alpha phase is shown to be accompanied by an increase of thermoelectric power and electrical conductivity, and also significant rise in the free charge carrier density. Concomitant with these electronic changes is an unexpected increase in the carrier scattering rate, which exhibits features of localization.
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Bi-Weekly Seminar
Electromagnetic Probes of Enzymatic Activity in Live Organisms
Date: Friday May 25, 2007
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Location: Houston Science Center – Building 593 — Room 102
Overview
We report on measurements of the harmonics generated by live cells, mitochondria, photosynthetic organelles, and whole organisms in response to sinusoidal electric fields. The frequency and amplitude dependence of the induced harmonics correlate with physiological processes occurring in various enzyme complexes. The motion of charged residues and ions leads to a nonsinusoidal response to an applied sinusoidal field, leading to the generation of harmonics. For example, H+-ATPase, a proton pump that plays an important role in yeast (S. cerevisiae) generates harmonics that are affected by suitable inhibitors or substrates, such as vanadate or glucose. A high-Tc SQUID is used to measure its response at low frequencies (< 1 kHz). At higher frequencies the field capacitively couples through the plasma membrane and probes complexes within internal organelles. Some features in the frequency-dependent harmonics produced by whole cells appear to correlate with those seen in isolated mitochondria, which can be increased by adding substrates that activate the electron transport chain, or suppressed by inhibitors such as rotenone or antimycin A. Finally, both the linear and harmonic responses of whole leaves and thylakoid membrane (chloroplast) suspensions, responsible for photosynthesis in plants, are strongly affected by the presence or absence of light.
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