<p><strong><u>Title</u> :</strong></p><h3>Understanding molecular orientation and transport: from electrochemical interface to porous materials</h3><p><strong><u>Abstract</u> :</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Nanoscale physical properties such as molecular orientation and transport play a fundamental role in the material function and understanding the structure-function relationship is crucial in a variety of fields. As an experimental physical chemist, I strive to explore fundamental physical processes utilizing a range of spectroscopic and optical microscopy techniques. In this talk, I will discuss some of my recent studies on water response at electrochemical surfaces using non-linear vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy and molecular transport in complex environments using single-particle microscopy methods. We know that water forms an extended hydrogen bond network that is terminated at the interface producing an inherent inhomogeneity. In the first part of my talk, I will discuss how this interfacial water responds asymmetrically to the externally applied potential. In the second part of my talk, I will talk about heterogeneous mass transport processes in porous materials as well as in live-cell environments. I have designed and built a novel three-color widefield fluorescence microscope for tracking dynamics in 3D while imaging structures of cellular organelles at various depths within the cell. I will talk about the working principles of this novel microscope and demonstrate the complex transport of cholera toxin-B (CTxB) around the Golgi apparatus inside live baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells. This study quantifies heterogeneous transport behavior, especially the active transport processes of CTxB when compared to the transport inhibitory drug-treated BHK cells.</p>