Most of our knowledge about chemistry inside a cell is from in vitro analysis of biomolecules. Yet a cell is not just a bag of molecules. Probing the spatial and temporal dynamics of molecular interactions is essential to understanding the machinery of life. Chemical microscopy based on spectroscopic signals from chemical bond vibrations opens a new window to watch the life at molecular level. Two advanced bond-selective chemical microscopies, based on coherent Raman scattering and the mid-infrared photothermal effect, have allowed real time imaging of molecular structures and chemical reactions inside a living system. This presentation will introduce innovations in chemical imaging, applications to life science, and commercialization for world-wide use.  

About the speaker: Ji-Xin Cheng attended University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) from 1989 to 1994. From 1994 to 1998, he carried out his PhD study on bond-selective chemistry at USTC. After a short postdoctoral training on ultrafast spectroscopy at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, he joined Sunney Xie’s group at Harvard University as a postdoc, where he spearheaded the development of CARS microscopy that allows high-speed vibrational imaging. Cheng joined Purdue University in 2003 as Assistant Professor in Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Chemistry, promoted to Associate Professor in 2009 and Full Professor in 2013. He joined Boston University as the Inaugural Theodore Moustakas Chair Professor in Photonics and Optoelectronics in summer 2017. Among his honors, Cheng received the 2020 Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award from the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh, the 2019 Ellis R. Lippincott Award from Optica, Society for Applied Spectroscopy, Coblentz Society, the 2016 Research Award from Purdue University College of Engineering, and the 2015 Craver Award from Coblentz Society. Cheng has authored in ~300 peer-reviewed articles with an h-index of 89. Cheng co-founded Vibronix Inc and Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp that commercialize coherent Raman scattering and infrared photothermal microscopes for worldwide use. Very recently, Cheng initiated the inaugural Gordon Research Conference on Chemical Imaging, to be held in Easton, MA in August 2023.