How do plants harvest solar energy and

what can we learn from them?

Jennifer Ogilvie

How biological molecules harness and control light energy is fundamental to life. In photosynthesis, elaborate antenna arrays gather solar energy and transfer it to photochemical reaction centers with 95% efficiency. Through cleverly selecting the molecular components and manipulating their relative structural arrangements and physical environments, nature has designed robust structures that achieve diverse goals. I will discuss recent progress towards understanding the basic design principles of photosynthesis by using nonlinear spectroscopy to map out energy transfer pathways in natural photosynthetic systems.