Lab News

Jan. 8, 2026: The Lee Research Group joined with Department of Chemistry professor Jason Calvin and Department of Physics Professors Kun Wang, Vivek Prakash, and Pawel Jung to inspire students with astounding scientific demonstrations. These young scholars measured the temperature and observed the color of a blackbody emitter at different temperatures, excited molecules with light to convert green light into orange light, used a microscope to see the pixels on a LED screen observing how electricity can generate light and how the red, green, and blue pixels combine to make different colors, and finally performed a chemical reaction that glows in the dark. We thank the teachers and students at Jack D. Gordon Elementary School for the fantastic time.

Dec. 15, 2025: Lee Research Group welcomes new chemistry postdoctoral fellow Jyotirban Dey! Jyotirban earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in Chemistry at Indian Institutes of Technology Kanpur. Welcome Jyotirban!

Oct. 20, 2025: Single-particle multiphoton fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy and single-particle dark-field spectroscopy capabilities are up and running.

Multiphoton fluorescence microscope setup. This setup will be further updated for our single-particle femtosecond upconversion spectroscopy. We currently have 400 nm diffraction-limited spatial resolution and single-particle sensitivity.

Close up of the home-built microscope. Using as few refractive optics as possible, we maintain ultrashort pulses for femtosecond spectroscopy while maintaining single-particle sensitivity.

Dark-field scattering and transmission microscope. We characterize our plasmonic nanoparticles’ scattering and extinction spectra to study surface chemistry changes and alloying effects.

Feb. 21, 2025: We now have our laser and optical microscope installed. The Spectra Physics Insight X3 will provide tunable ultrashort pulsed excitation for our time-resolved fluorescence upconversion microscope.

Jan. 20, 2025: The laser lab is ready for business. Renovations are complete and optical table is installed.

Jan. 9, 2025: Lee Research Group welcomes new chemistry graduate student Dipto Das! Dipto earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Chemistry at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. Welcome Dipto!

Dec. 20, 2024: Lee Research Group welcomes new chemistry graduate student Ashfia Tasnim! Ashfia completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Rajshahi University, with a master’s thesis focusing on silver nanoparticles and their biological applications. Welcome Ashfia!