Athens, Ga. – If you’re reading this in an office, chances are it is in the glow of a fluorescent tube. But how does that glass tube function and create less heat waste than other bulbs, and what are other research implications of the optical phenomenon known as fluorescence? These and other questions will be the subject of the next installment in an ongoing seminar series at the University of Georgia.
“Innovations at the Interface: Interdisciplinary approaches to engineering, science and society,” sponsored by the UGA Faculty of Engineering, continues with a seminar by Mark Haidekker on Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. in room 150 of the Student Learning Center. An associate professor in the UGA Faculty of Engineering, Haidekker’s will delve into the broad spectrum of applications for fluorescence as a discovery tool in the life sciences from biochemistry, medicine and forensics to mineralogy and geology.
The seminar and discussion series is designed to bring together faculty and students interested in technology and how it impacts society. Part of Haidekker’s expertise in biomedical imaging and biophonotonics includes the design of new fluorescent molecules and their application in various fields from cells to proteins to pharmaceuticals. A special focus of this seminar will be on a group of fluorescent probes capable of sensing fluid mechanics, particularly viscosity and shear stress.
“Fluorescence is being utilized to study everything from the structure of DNA to improved oil drilling and exploration,” says Dale Threadgill, director of the UGA Faculty of Engineering. “The better we understand this natural phenomenon and its potential, the better we understand the role it plays in our world.”
The presentation by Haidekker will be followed by a reception. The monthly seminar series is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit http://www.engineering.uga.edu/events/.
The UGA Faculty of Engineering was established in 2001 to advance comprehensive engineering at the University of Georgia. With more than 100 members from twenty-four departments in nine schools and colleges across campus, the Faculty of Engineering provides an entrepreneurial setting for engineering academic programs in the unique environment of UGA. For more information, visit www.engineering.uga.edu.
