Sign In / Sign Out
Navigation for Entire University
Spring 2021 update | FAQ page | Class flexibility for students | Novel coronavirus updates
Thomas A. Moore is a Regents Professor in the School of Molecular Science at Arizona State University where he is a founding member of the Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis and a Distinguished Sustainability Scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigely Global Institute of Sustainability. Professor Moore worked under the direction of Professor Pill-Soon Song for the Ph.D. degree from Texas Tech University and was a postdoctoral fellow with Professor Alvin Kwiram at the University of Washington. He served as President of the American Society for Photobiology in 2004 and received the Senior Research Award from the Society in 2001. Over the period 2005-2007, Professor Moore was awarded a Chaire Internationale de Recherche Blaise Pascal, Région d'Ile de France. He has served on several Department of Energy Basic Research Needs Workshops including the DOE Basic Energy Sciences Grand Challenges Committee, which produced “Directing Matter and Energy: Five Challenges for Science and the Imagination,” outlining research priorities for the foreseeable future. Professor Moore and his long-time colleagues, Professors Ana Moore and Devens Gust, collaborate on research in artificial photosynthesis. Their work addresses the design, synthesis and assembly of bio-inspired constructs for solar energy conversion and the design principles for artificial systems to be realized through reengineered photosynthesis and synthetic biology.
Ph.D. Texas Tech 1975
Our research interests focus on the design and assembly of bio-inspired constructs for solar energy conversion, catalysis and signal transduction. The incorporation of artificial antennas and reaction centers into model biological membranes to make solar energized membranes is one of the first steps towards assembling nanoscale devices capable of carrying out human-directed work. It is our sense that the promise and excitement in nanoscale science and technology are predicated on paradigms taken from biology for molecular-scale motors, pumps, signal amplifiers, etc. These devices from biology are powered by proton motive force (pmf) or the thermodynamic equivalent of pmf, ATP. On the other hand, most of the devices we have come to appreciate (and expect) from the human-made world are powered by electromotive force. The membrane potential associated with energized membranes is the common denominator between the energy transducers of biology and their counterparts in the human-made world. Broadly, our research aims to explore this connection and use it to establish links between the systems and thereby determine ways to couple electronic circuits and devices to nanoscale signals and energy transducers.
This idea can be elaborated in the field of signal processing/molecular sensors by imagining the design of hybrid devices which link silicon-based elements in an electrical circuit with biological receptors in which molecular recognition provides exquisite specificity at near single molecule sensitivity. In such a device, biological amplifiers (e.g., a G-protein cascade) powered by pmf would provide initial amplification of the signal resulting from the binding of a target ligand by a membrane-linked receptor. The amplified output signal would then be coupled to more conventional circuits for measurement and analysis. In other words, the information/signal at the biological level (ligand recognition and binding) would be amplified using biological amplifiers, the output of which is then translated into an electrical signal for conventional electronic processing.
Photosynthetic organisms provide myriad examples of catalysis including several essential redox ones that operate with essentially no over potential. These include the most efficient 4-electron catalyst known for the oxidation of water to yield oxygen and protons. In combination with the biological catalyst for oxygen reduction, found in photosynthetic and all oxygenic organisms, and enzymes for hydrogen production by proton reduction, nature has provided the basic paradigms for fuel cell operation. It is a major goal of our work in artificial photosynthesis to link redox- and pmf-generating constructs to these catalysts in order to enhance our understanding of energy flow in biological systems and to provide energy transduction to meet human needs.
Can Nature Regain Control of the Global Carbon Cycle?
Dr. Moore was recently invited to contribute a Ted type talk at a symposium on "The environmental problem from pharmacy and chemistry : Ethics and aesthetics as fundamental tools", part of a series on "Dialogues on Human Ecology" at the The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Using evidence from current research and trends in policy, social, economic and science issues relevant to sustainability, The presentation gives a highly personalized but fascinating account of how mankind can help nature regain control of the global carbon cycle.
Click to watch the video
Spring 2021 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
CHM 460 | Biological Chemistry |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Fall 2020 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Spring 2020 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
CHM 460 | Biological Chemistry |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Fall 2019 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Spring 2019 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
CHM 460 | Biological Chemistry |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Fall 2018 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Spring 2018 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Fall 2017 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Spring 2017 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
CHM 460 | Biological Chemistry |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BCH 561 | Adv Topics in Biochemistry |
SOS 598 | Special Topics |
Fall 2016 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
MBB 495 | Undergraduate Research |
SOS 598 | Special Topics |
BCH 598 | Special Topics |
Can Nature Regain Control of the Global Carbon Cycle?
Dr. Moore was recently invited to contribute a Ted type talk at a symposium on "The environmental problem from pharmacy and chemistry : Ethics and aesthetics as fundamental tools", part of a series on "Dialogues on Human Ecology" at the The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Using evidence from current research and trends in policy, social, economic and science issues relevant to sustainability, The presentation gives a highly personalized but fascinating account of how mankind can help nature regain control of the global carbon cycle.
Click to watch the video