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Laura Kaufman

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Laura Jill Kaufman
Alma materColumbia University
University of California, Berkeley
Scientific career
InstitutionsHarvard University
Columbia University
ThesisFifth-order nonresonant Raman spectroscopy (2002)
Doctoral advisorGraham Fleming

Laura Jill Kaufman is an American chemist who is a professor of chemistry at Columbia University. Her research considers the dynamics of crowded systems, including biopolymer gels, supercooled liquids and conjugated polymers.

Early life and education

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Kaufman grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey.[1] Her father worked as a postal clerk and her mother taught in a public school.[1] In 1997 Kaufman graduated from Columbia University, where she majored in Chemistry and English.[2] As an undergraduate student Kaufman was selected for the I.I. Rabi Scholars programme, and took part in various different research projects. She has said that this experience was transformative in becoming a scientist.[1] She moved to University of California, Berkeley for her graduate studies, where she worked on multi-dimensional Raman spectroscopy. She worked in the laboratory of Graham Fleming on carbon disulfide. Her research looks at how diffusive dynamics emerge from fluctuations of individual molecules.[3] After finishing her doctoral research, Kaufman moved to Harvard University, where she joined Xiaoliang Sunney Xie and used Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) microscopy to investigate colloidal glasses.[4][5]

Research and career

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Kaufman joined the Chemistry faculty at Columbia University in 2004. Her research considers the dynamics of crowded, complex systems,[6] including supercooled liquids and polymer aggregates studied by single-molecule fluorescence microscopy.[7] In supercooled liquids, single molecule fluorophores provide information on the surrounding host. Kaufman has shown that conjugated polymers with a compact conformation have different photophysical properties than those with an extended backbone.[8]

Awards and honors

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Selected publications

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  • Ju Young Lee; Byung Hee Hong; Woo Youn Kim; et al. (July 2009). "Near-field focusing and magnification through self-assembled nanoscale spherical lenses". Nature. 460 (7254): 498–501. Bibcode:2009Natur.460..498L. doi:10.1038/NATURE08173. ISSN 1476-4687. Wikidata Q57942759.
  • L.J. Kaufman; C.P. Brangwynne; K.E. Kasza; E. Filippidi; V.D. Gordon; T.S. Deisboeck; D A Weitz (22 April 2005). "Glioma expansion in collagen I matrices: analyzing collagen concentration-dependent growth and motility patterns". Biophysical Journal. 89 (1): 635–650. Bibcode:2005BpJ....89..635K. doi:10.1529/BIOPHYSJ.105.061994. ISSN 0006-3495. PMC 1366562. PMID 15849239. Wikidata Q30476738.
  • Cheng Guo; Laura J. Kaufman (16 November 2006). "Flow and magnetic field induced collagen alignment". Biomaterials. 28 (6): 1105–1114. doi:10.1016/J.BIOMATERIALS.2006.10.010. ISSN 0142-9612. PMID 17112582. Wikidata Q59289238.

Personal life

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Kaufman is married to David Reichman, the Centennial Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University.[1][12] They have two children.[1]

References

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