Research Seminars @ Illinois

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Tailored for undergraduate researchers, this calendar is a curated list of research seminars at the University of Illinois. Explore the diverse world of research and expand your knowledge through engaging sessions designed to inspire and enlighten.

To have your events added or removed from this calendar, please contact OUR at ugresearch@illinois.edu

Special Biological Physics Seminar- "Single molecules, imaging, tracking, and the diffraction limit for finite photons."

Event Type: Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor: The Physics Department
Location: The Rhondale Tso Seminar Room Loomis 236
Date: Apr 22, 2025 10:00 am
Speaker: Fang Huang, Purdue University
Contact: Janice Benner
E-Mail: jbenner@illinois.edu
Originating Calendar: Physics - Biological Physics / iPoLS / STC-QCB Seminar; Since Robert Hooke’s first description of a cell in Micrographia 350 years ago, microscopy has played an important role in understanding the rules of life. Far-field fluorescence microscopy is a powerful approach in biological and biomedical research due to its live cell compatibility and molecular specificity. A major hurdle over the last century has been the limited resolution due to the diffraction of light. Super-resolution microscopy methods, such as single-molecule localization microscopy, overcome this fundamental barrier to improve the resolution limit (250-600 nm, lateral-axial) down to a few nanometers. I will discuss some of our most recent projects which explore newly available sensors/devices, analytical methods and unconventional system instrumentation to allow single molecule imaging and tracking down to a few nanometer precision in live cells and deep tissues. I will show the capabilities of these new imaging systems and analysis pipelines in revealing the fine details of subcellular/tissue features from a diverse set of biological systems including viruses, bacteria, yeasts, mammalian cells and brain sections. Finally, if time permits, I will discuss our recent theoretical work on a new diffraction limit with finite photons.

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