Welcome to the website of the upcoming school + workshop "Quantum Dynamics and Spectroscopy of Functional Molecular Materials and Biological Photosystems", to be held from 23 to 28 February 2025 (school) and 2-7 March 2025 (workshop). Both events are held at the École de Physique des Houches.

The past 10-15 years have seen major advances in ultrafast optical spectroscopies, leading notably to the development of two-dimensional electronic (UV-Vis) spectroscopies, novel electronic-vibrational techniques, and femtosecond transient X-ray experiments. Due to this progress, quantum processes in molecular systems, ranging from small molecules to biological systems and functional materials, are amenable to study in unprecedented detail. Experimental advances have been accompanied by equally impressive progress in the theoretical understanding and simulation of high-dimensional molecular systems undergoing photoexcitation. The concepts of collective excitations and coherent dynamics in ultrafast photochemical reactions in complex systems - such as energy harvesting and charge transfer in photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes and the generation of excitons and free charges in optoelectronic materials - have been intensely debated in a multidisciplinary research effort, yielding an improved understanding of nonequilibrium phenomena guided by the interplay of quantum dynamics and environmental effects.

Against this background, the goal of this school + workshop event is to bring together a group of leading spectroscopists and theorists, to address the most recent progress and objectives in the study of energy and charge transfer in biomolecular systems and functional materials. A guiding theme is the matching between spectroscopic variables and quantum simulations, for various time-resolved spectroscopies including novel two-dimensional electronic-vibrational schemes as well as single-molecule and femtosecond X-ray transient techniques.

This event is a follow-up to several related workshops held at the Telluride Science Center (TSRC) in 2013, 2015, and 2019, as well as an online event in 2021, and previous workshops at Les Houches in 2017 and 2023.

Jessica Anna (University of Pennsylvania, USA)

Irene Burghardt (Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany)

David Coker (Boston University, USA) 

Jérémie Léonard (University of Strasbourg, France)

David Picconi (University of Düsseldorf, Germany)

Thomas Renger (University of Linz, Austria)

Young Min Rhee (KAIST, South Korea)

To register for the school and/or workshop go to the Registration page.

Four attendance options are available:

1. School in person + workshop online: Sunday 23d to Friday 28th of February 2025,  600 Euros

2. Workshop in person : Sunday 2d to- Friday 7th of March 2025,  600 Euros

3. School in person + Workshop in person: Sunday, Feb.  23d - Friday, March 7th, 2025,  1440 Euros

4. Workshop online*: Monday 3d to Friday 7th of March 2025 ,  0 Euros

*registration is free but necessary to receive the online link in due time

The fees are all-inclusive for 1-week (5 days) or 2-week (12 days) accommodation and full catering.

Arrival/departure: Arrival is planned on Sunday before dinner (dinner included) and departure is scheduled on Friday after lunch (lunch included or "take away" for early departure).

Abstract submission is invited for in person oral presentations and posters (Abstract template):

• single slide presentations (SSP) at the school,
• contributed talks or poster presentations at the workshop.

You should first register, then submit only one abstract: abstracts submitted by the school applicants are considered primarily for SSP's, and will also be considered for posters (and possibly contributed talks) at the workshop if you plan to attend both.

The application deadline is 5 January 2025. We will inform you as soon as possible regarding the acceptance of your application.

After registration, go to My submissions.