Cong Xu (The University of Texas at Austin)

"Unveiling the Dynamics of Synthetic Membrane Interfaces through Ultrafast Spectroscopy"

Abstract: Synthetic lipids are of significant importance in various fields, including biosensors, drug delivery, synthetic biology, and the study of the transition from non-living matter to life. The utilization of synthetic lipids as platforms for biomimicry and catalysis is becoming increasingly popular.

In this defense I will discuss:

1. Extracting relevant temporal evolution from multidimensional spectroscopy using data driven methods based on dynamics mode decomposition.

2. Investigation of synthetic lipid membranes from two main perspectives: the impact of molecular diversity on membrane morphology and the influence of molecular dynamics on the formation of lipid mesophases.