The Beck Laboratory

Professor Warren F. Beck

Recent Publications

Gurchiek, J. K.; Rose, J. B.; Guberman-Pfeffer, M. J.; Tilluck, R. W.; Ghosh, S.; Gascón, J. A.; Beck, W. F. Fluorescence anisotropy detection of barrier crossing and ultrafast conformational dynamics in the S2 state of β-carotene. J. Phys. Chem. B 2020, 124, 9029–9046.

Roscioli, J. D.; Ghosh, S.; LaFountain, A. M.; Frank, H. A.; Beck, W. F. Structural tuning of quantum decoherence and coherent energy transfer in photosynthetic light harvesting. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2018, 9, 5071–5077.

Gurchiek, J. K.; Bao, H.; Domínguez-Martín, M. A.; McGovern, S. E.; Marquardt, C. E.; Roscioli, J. D.; Ghosh, S.; Kerfeld, C. A.; Beck, W. F. Fluorescence and excited-state conformational dynamics of the orange carotenoid protein. J. Phys. Chem. B 2018, 122, 1792–1800.

Roscioli, J. D.; Ghosh, S.; LaFountain, A. M.; Frank, H. A.; Beck, W. F. Quantum coherent excitation energy transfer by carotenoids in photosynthetic light harvesting. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2017, 8, 5141-5147.

Ghosh, S.; Bishop, M. M.; Roscioli, J. D.; LaFountain, A. M.; Frank, H. A.; Beck, W. F. Excitation energy transfer by coherent and incoherent mechanisms in the peridinin–chlorophyll a protein. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2017, 8, 463-469.

Ghosh, S.; Roscioli, J. D.; Bishop, M. M.; Gurchiek, J. K.; LaFountain, A. M.; Frank, H. A.; Beck, W. F. Torsional dynamics and intramolecular charge transfer in the S2 (11Bu+) excited state of peridinin: a mechanism for enhanced mid-visible light harvesting. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2016, 7, 3621–3626.

Ghosh, S.; Bishop, M. M.; Roscioli, J. D.; LaFountain, A. M.; Frank, H. A.; Beck, W. F. Femtosecond heterodyne transient grating studies of nonradiative deactivation of the S2 (11Bu+) state of peridinin: detection and spectroscopic assignment of an intermediate in the decay pathway. J. Phys. Chem. B 2016, 120, 3601-3614.

Nairat, M.; Konar, A.; Lozovoy, V. V.; Beck, W. F.; Blanchard, G. J.; Dantus, M. Controlling S2 population in cyanine dyes using shaped femtosecond pulses. J. Phys. Chem. A 2016, 120, 1876-1885.

Ghosh, S.; Bishop, M. M.; Roscioli, J. D.; Mueller, J. J.; Shepherd, N. C.; LaFountain, A. M.; Frank, H. A.; Beck, W. F. Femtosecond heterodyne transient-grating studies of nonradiative decay of the S2 (11Bu+) state of β-carotene: Contributions from dark intermediates and double-quantum coherences. J. Phys. Chem. B 2015, 119, 14905-14924.

Bishop, M. M.; Roscioli, J. D.; Ghosh, S.; Mueller, J. J.; Shepherd, N. C.; Beck, W. F. Vibrationally coherent preparation of the transition state for photoisomerization of the cyanine dye Cy5 in water. J. Phys. Chem. B 2015, 119, 6905-6915.

Beck, W. F.; Bishop, M. M.; Roscioli, J. D.; Ghosh, S.; Frank, H. A. Excited state conformational dynamics in carotenoids: dark intermediates and excitation energy transfer. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 2015, 572, 175-183.

Posey, L. A.; Hendricks, R. J.; Beck, W. F. Dynamic Stokes shift of the time-resolved phosphorescence spectrum of ZnII-substituted cytochrome c. J. Phys. Chem. B 2013, 15926–15934.

Tripathy, J.; Mueller, J. J.; Shepherd, N. C.; Beck, W. F. Dynamic solvation and coupling of the hydration shell of ZnII-substituted cytochrome c in the presence of guanidinium ions. J. Phys. Chem. B 2013, 14589-14598.

Dillman, K. L.; Beck, W. F. Vibrational coherence from van der Waals modes in the native and molten-globule states of ZnII-substituted cytochrome c. J. Phys. Chem. B 2011, 115, 8657–8666.

Tripathy, J.; Beck, W. F. Nanosecond-regime correlation timescales for equilibrium protein structural fluctuations of metal-free cytochrome c from picosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and the dynamic Stokes shift. J. Phys. Chem. B 2010, 114, 15958–15968.

Dillman, K. L.; Beck, W. F. Excited-state vibrational coherence in methanol solution of ZnII tetrakis (N‑methylpyridyl) porphyrin: charge-dependent intermolecular mode frequencies and implications for electron-transfer dynamics in photosynthetic reaction centers. J. Phys. Chem. B. 2010, 114, 15269–15277.

Dillman, K. L.; Shelly, K. R.; Beck, W. F. Vibrational coherence in polar solutions of ZnII tetrakis (N‑methylpyridyl) porphyrin with Soret-band excitation: rapidly damped intermolecular modes with clustered solvent molecules and slowly damped intramolecular modes from the porphyrin macrocycle. J. Phys. Chem. B 2009, 113, 6127–6139.

Barns, K. J.; Lampa-Pastirk, S.; Dillman, K. L.; Wegener, A. J.; Beck, W. F. Intramolecular vibrational excitation of unfolding reactions in ZnII-substituted and metal-free cytochromes c: activation enthalpies from integrated fluorescence Stokes shift and lineshape excitation profiles. J. Phys. Chem. B 2008, 112, 15108–15115.

Shelly, K. R.; Golovich, E. C., Dillman, K. L., and Beck, W. F. Intermolecular vibrational coherence in the bacteriochlorophyll proteins B777 and B820 from Rhodospirillum rubrum. J. Phys. Chem. B 2008, 112, 1299–1307.

cover J Phys ChemLampa-Pastirk, S.; Beck, W. F. Intramolecular vibrational preparation of the unfolding transition state of Zn(II)-substituted cytochrome c. J. Phys. Chem. B 2006, 110, 22971–22974. Featured as the cover article for the 23 November 2006 issue.

Shelly, K. R.; Golovich, E. C.; Beck, W. F. Intermolecular vibrational coherence in bacteriochlorophyll a with clustered polar solvent molecules. J. Phys. Chem. B 2006, 110, 20586–20595.

Lampa-Pastirk, S.; Beck, W. F. Polar solvation dynamics in Zn(II)-substituted cytochrome c: diffusive sampling of the energy landscape in the hydrophobic core and solvent-contact layer. J. Phys. Chem. B 2004, 108, 16288–16294.

Lampa-Pastirk, S.; Lafuente, R. C.; Beck, W. F. Excited-state axial-ligand photodissociation and nonpolar protein-matrix reorganization in Zn(II)-substituted cytochrome c. J. Phys. Chem. B 2004, 108, 12602–12607.

Carson, E. A.; Diffey, W. M.; Shelly, K. R.; Lampa-Pastirk, S.; Dillman, K. L.; Schleicher, J. M.; Beck, W. F. Dynamic-absorption spectral contours: vibrational phase-dependent resolution of low-frequency coherent wave-packet motion of IR144 on the ground-state and excited-state π→π* surfaces. J. Phys. Chem. A 2004, 108, 1489–1500.

Shelly, K. R.; Carson, E. A.; Beck, W. F. Vibrational coherence from the dipyridine complex of bacteriochlorophyll a: intramolecular modes in the 10–220-cm-1 regime, intermolecular solvent modes, and relevance to photosynthesis. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 11810–11811.