UC Berkeley

Progress in measuring and understanding the mechanism of the elementary energy transfer steps in photosynthetic light harvesting from roughly 1949 to the present is sketched with a focus on the group of scientists born in 1949 ± 1. Improvements in structural knowledge, laser spectroscopic methods, and quantum dynamical theories have led to the ability to record and calculate with reasonable accuracy the timescales of elementary energy transfer steps. The significance of delocalized excited states and of near-field Coulombic coupling is noted. The microscopic understanding enables consistent coarse graining and should enable a much-improved understanding of the regulation of photosynthetic light harvesting.