Friday
November 12

Virtually all living things are powered by energy, which ultimately comes from the sun. The energy sends electrons skyrocketing into high voltage states and initiates an electronic extravaganza in which electricity drives a series of molecular machines with many moving parts which ultimately create sugar, the principal fuel for living things. When the sugar is burned inside cells in the presence of oxygen it generates electricity which powers turbine-like machines which in turn synthesize ATP, the molecule which drives the processes of life itself. In this presentation, Dr. Matthew Rainbow will describe recent research, which is finally revealing the detailed physical secrets of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. A highlight of the evening will be a very high quality computer animation of the catalytic mechanism of the all-important enzyme complex ATP synthase, which harnesses the electrochemical energy of a proton gradient to create ATP in a manner which was finally elucidated in the mid 1990s. The program will conclude with a question-discussion session on the applications of photosynthesis biochemistry and genetic engineering to electronic and mechanical nanotechnology.

Time	6-10 p.m.
Location:	Room: LH-100
Flex Credit:	4.0 Hours