Speaker: Dr Jason Kilpatrick, UCD.
Title: "Advances in Atomic Force Microscopy: From Atoms to Cells and Beyond".
Abstract: Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) provides powerful techniques for nanometer scale characterization of materials at interfaces. Recent advances in AFM instrumentation, probe technology and techniques have led to high resolution imaging moving out of the clean and controlled vacuum environment to ambient and liquid systems allowing us to investigate interesting phenomena from surface induced structuring of water and ions at interfaces, direct visualization of the double helix of DNA and even mapping the energy landscape of unfolding proteins. Recent trends have focused on expanding AFM from a topography imaging tool to one which is capable of mapping mechanical, electrical and even chemical properties at the nanoscale. This talk will give an overview of modern advanced AFM applications in the research and industrial markets and where the field is heading in the near future.
Biography: Jason Kilpatrick received his PhD in Chemistry from The University of Newcastle, Australia, in 2006 and has over 15 years of experience in AFM instrumentation and technique development. He joined the Jarvis Laboratory, Trinity College Dublin in 2005 before moving to University College Dublin in 2007. In addition to his academic role, Jason is also the applications scientist for Adama Innovations, a startup based in Trininty College Dublin, bringing sharp conductive diamond probes to the AFM market. His research is focused on advancing AFM instrumentation to enable the investigation of a wide range of systems including: the influence of water and ions at interfaces, high resolution imaging, electrochemical phenomena at the solid-liquid interface and nanomechanics.