Prof.  Jovana  Petrovic
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY,  Germany

Title: Ultrafast optical control and investigation of molecules and complexes

Abstract:

The development of ultrashort-pulse lasers has played a pivotal role in studies of ultrafast chemical reactions and molecular structure by enabling their triggering, observation, and control in real time. I will give an overview of the investigations of the ultrafast dynamics of steric and electronic effects in chemical reactions performed in the Controlled Molecule Imaging (CMI) group. I will give a detailed account of our recent studies of the dynamics of photo-excited indole molecules and indole-(water)1 clusters, with the aim to unravel the mechanisms of formation and breaking of hydrogen bonds, which play an important role in protein inactivation in aqueous environments. Special emphasis will be put on the optical techniques used in alignment and orientation, ultrafast excitation and strong-field probing of molecules, and to an emerging high spatio-temporal resolution imaging technique — laserinduced electron diffraction.

Biography:

Dr Jovana Petrovic graduated from the School of Electronic Engineering, University of Belgrade, Serbia and earned her PhD from the Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies, Birmingham, UK. Upon postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford, UK and the Laboratory for Nonlinear Spectroscopy, Florence, Italy, and the tenured appointment at the Vinca Institute, Belgrade, Serbia, she joined the Centre for Free Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg, Germany. She is appointed as an Associate Research Professor at the University of Belgrade. Dr. Petrovic has made a number of contributions to photonics, atomic and molecular physics. Her main scientific interests are in the areas of fibre-optic sensing, ultrafast lasers and laser cooling and control of atoms and molecules. Her research has resulted in 45 journal and 80 conference contributions and the foundation of a spin-off company. Dr. Petrovic serves as an expert project evaluator and monitor to the European Commission and is an active member of the Optical Society of America, Optical Society of Serbia and the German Physical Society