Gregory M. Greetham, known professionally as Greg Greetham, develops ultrafast spectroscopic instrumentation at the Central Laser Facility. His institutional profile describes work on the Ultra laser laboratories and their control systems, including two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy and femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy.[ref]
Greg Greetham profile at the Central Laser Facility. Professional background and Ultra development
This instrumentation makes controlled pump-probe spectroscopy possible: one pulse initiates a change, and another probes the sample after a chosen delay. Pulse generation, timing, sample handling and acquisition all affect which molecular dynamics can be resolved. A faster probe alone cannot compensate for an initiating perturbation whose timing is poorly defined.
Greetham coauthored the2022 RNA hairpin refolding study, in which thin sample geometry enabled fast cooling as well as an initial temperature jump.[ref]
Measuring RNA UNCG Tetraloop Refolding Dynamics Using Temperature-Jump/Drop Infrared Spectroscopy by C. P. Howe and others. Byline; experimental description of sample geometry and cooling
The study illustrates the scientific role of instrument design. Following recovery toward the starting structure requires the thermal perturbation to relax on a useful timescale; a setup that only heats quickly can obscure the later folding dynamics.
Greg Greetham
. Externally hosted profile photograph linked from the Central Laser Facility's named staff page. New to topics? Read the docs here!