Graham Fleming
Encyclopedia
Graham R. Fleming is an American
chemist, currently serving as professor, director of the Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, and the vice chancellor for research at the University of California, Berkeley
.
from the University of Bristol
(1971) and a Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry
from the University of London
(1974). He spent the next five years as a postdoctoral researcher
at three institutions: California Institute of Technology
(1974–1975); University of Melbourne
(1975–1976); and the Royal Institution in the United Kingdom (1976–1979).
In 1979 Fleming received his first academic appointment, as assistant professor at University of Chicago
(1979–1983). In 1983 he was appointed associate professor, and in 1985 he was made a full professor (A. H. Compton Distinguished Services Professor). He filled that position until 1997, when he accepted a dual position at the University of California, Berkeley
as professor in Chemistry and as the first director of the Physical Bioscience Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
; in 2002 he was given the chair of Melvin Calvin Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at UCB. In April, 2009, Fleming was appointed UCB's vice chancellor for research, responsible for administering all federal, state and private research funds received by the campus and overseeing all campus museums and research units.
Fields of study pursued by Fleming and his study groups include condensed-phase chemical and biological dynamics, photosynthesis operations, quantum dynamics, quantum information in condensed phases, photochemical reactions, electronic processes at nanoscale, and development of nonlinear optical spectroscopes.
He is particularly known for his work published 2007 providing evidence for quantum coherence in photosynthetic energy transfer, a possible explanation of the high efficiency of photosynthesis.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chemist, currently serving as professor, director of the Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, and the vice chancellor for research at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
Career
Fleming received a B.S. (with honors) degree in ChemistryChemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
from the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
(1971) and a Ph.D. degree in Physical Chemistry
Physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of physical laws and concepts...
from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
(1974). He spent the next five years as a postdoctoral researcher
Postdoctoral researcher
Postdoctoral research is scholarly research conducted by a person who has recently completed doctoral studies, normally within the previous five years. It is intended to further deepen expertise in a specialist subject, including acquiring novel skills and methods...
at three institutions: California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
(1974–1975); University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
(1975–1976); and the Royal Institution in the United Kingdom (1976–1979).
In 1979 Fleming received his first academic appointment, as assistant professor at University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
(1979–1983). In 1983 he was appointed associate professor, and in 1985 he was made a full professor (A. H. Compton Distinguished Services Professor). He filled that position until 1997, when he accepted a dual position at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
as professor in Chemistry and as the first director of the Physical Bioscience Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory conducting unclassified scientific research. It is located on the grounds of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Berkeley Hills above the central campus...
; in 2002 he was given the chair of Melvin Calvin Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at UCB. In April, 2009, Fleming was appointed UCB's vice chancellor for research, responsible for administering all federal, state and private research funds received by the campus and overseeing all campus museums and research units.
Fields of study pursued by Fleming and his study groups include condensed-phase chemical and biological dynamics, photosynthesis operations, quantum dynamics, quantum information in condensed phases, photochemical reactions, electronic processes at nanoscale, and development of nonlinear optical spectroscopes.
He is particularly known for his work published 2007 providing evidence for quantum coherence in photosynthetic energy transfer, a possible explanation of the high efficiency of photosynthesis.
Significant publications
- Carotenoid Cation Formation and the Regulation of Photosynthetic Light Harvesting. (co-author), ScienceScience (journal)Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
307, 433-436 (2005) - Two-dimensional Spectroscopy of Electronic Couplings in Photosynthesis. (co-author), NatureNature (journal)Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
434, 625-628 (2005) - Evidence for wavelike energy transfer: Quantum coherence in photosynthetic systems. (co-author), Nature 446, 782 (2007)
- Coherence dynamics in photosynthesis: Protein protection of excitonic coherence. (co-author), Science 316, 1462 (2007)
- Architecture of a Charge-Transfer State Regulating Light Harvesting in a Plant Antenna Protein. (co-author), Science 320, 794-796 (2008)
Awards and honors
- made a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
(1991) - made a Fellow of the Royal Society of LondonRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
(1994) - received an award from the Inter-American Photochemical Society (1996)
- received an award from the Royal Society of ChemistryRoyal Society of ChemistryThe Royal Society of Chemistry is a learned society in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences." It was formed in 1980 from the merger of the Chemical Society, the Royal Institute of Chemistry, the Faraday Society and the Society for Analytical Chemistry with a new...
(1996) - presented the Centenary Lecture to Royal Society of Chemistry (1996)
- presented the Max T. Rogers Distinguished Lectureship lecture at Michigan State UniversityMichigan State UniversityMichigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
(1997) - received the Peter Debye AwardPeter Debye AwardThe Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry is awarded annually by the American Chemical Society to encourage and reward outstanding research in Physical Chemistry. The award is granted without regard to age or nationality.-Past recipients:*2011 Louis E. Brus...
in Physical Chemistry from the American Chemical SocietyAmerican Chemical SocietyThe American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
(1998) - received the Harrison Howe Award in Physical Chemistry from the ACS (1999)
- received the Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular SpectroscopyEarle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular SpectroscopyThe Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy and Dynamics is a prize that has been awarded annually by the American Physical Society since 1977. The recipient is chosen for "notable contributions to the field of molecular spectroscopy and dynamics". The prize is named after Earle K...
from the American Physical SocietyAmerican Physical SocietyThe American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
(2002) - received the Sierra Nevada Distinguished Chemist Award (2003)
- received the Porter Medal from the European Photochemistry Association (2004)
- made a Member of the United States National Academy of Science (2007)
- presented the Presidential Lecture to Iowa State UniversityIowa State UniversityIowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
(2008) - received the Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science and Technology from the ACS (2008)
- received the Joel Henry Hildebrand Award in the Theoretical & Experimental Chemistry of Liquids from the ACS (2009)