News
June 8, 2012
Cheung,
an assistant professor of physics, is studying an artificial photosynthetic
material, known as the carotenoid-prophyrin-C60 molecular triad,
discovered in the 1990s by Devens Gust of Arizona State University. The
material mimics the processes used by plants to get energy from the sun and
converts sunlight into chemical energy.
“Right now, the molecule can only be controlled or contained in the lab,”
Cheung said. Researchers in the Cheung lab are using computer simulations to
determine how the size, temperature, and solvent in which the light-harvesting
material is contained affect its ability to create energy. Through the
simulations, she hopes to better understand the properties and behavior of the
molecule, and gain some insight into improving it.
Cheung’s research is funded by the Department of Energy and results of her
studies were published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B in
February. Her work uses advanced computers at TACC and the National Energy
Research Scientific Computing Center. Read
more – Biologically
Inspired EnergyCheung's Research Featured on Texas Advanced Computing Center Website
Researchers Investigate Photosynthetic Materials
A triad molecule (left) is rendered in bond representation. Carbon atoms are in cyan, nitrogen in blue, and hydrogen in white.The
article, Biologically
Inspired Energy, featured on the Texas Advanced Computing Center’s (TACC) website,
highlights Margaret Cheung’s use of the TACC’s Ranger supercomputer to
investigate photosynthetic materials.