Organization
University at Buffalo
Profile
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Employment StatusUniversity / College Faculty
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Telephone(716) 645-2739
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Biography
Andrea Markelz is a Professor of Physics and Adjunct Professor of Structural Biology and Electrical Engineering. Dr. Markelz received her bachelor’s degree from University California, Berkeley in Applied Mathematics and Physics. She then received a Master’s degree in Applied Physics from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Columbia University. Her PhD is in Physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara on nonlinear optical response in the far infrared. She is a member of the international organization committee of the International Infrared Millimeter and Terahertz Organization, an external review committee member of BioTHz in Seoul, Korea. She served as a reviewer for multiple international journals and both national and international funding agencies. She is a recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award. Dr. Markelz’s research focuses on the applications of terahertz light to understand protein dynamics, intermolecular interactions and collective excitations in electronic materials. Her group develops instrumentation to efficiently and sensitivity measure these excitations, as well develop computational approaches to understand the measurements. Instrumentation development includes sample preparation using self-assembly as well as standard photolithographic methods. Optical instrumentation is based on ultrafast lasers, linear and nonlinear optical generation and detection as well as standard FTIR measurements. The group has developed THz microspectroscopy to characterize intramolecular protein vibrations. Measurements are performed from 10 K – 500 K. Modeling of sample response uses molecular dynamics software such as charmm and NAMD, or HFSS for solid state dielectric response. Dr. Markelz, as part of the BioXFEL Center will focus her research on how crystal contacts influence the intramolecular vibrations.
