Chong Fang, professor of chemistry and Patricia V. Reser Endowed Faculty Scholar in Science, recently had three research articles selected as journal covers, underscoring the national visibility and scientific impact of his group’s work in ultrafast spectroscopy and light-driven chemical processes. The recent two studies published in early 2026 were led by Research Associate Cheng Chen and Postdoctoral Scholar Taylor Krueger, respectively. A third study, published in Sep. 2025, was led by chemistry graduate student Chieh-Hsi Kuan.
Both of the 2026 publications involve fluorescent proteins and their “core” chromophores that were first discovered in marine organisms such as jellyfish and coral. The earlier work focused on novel red-emitting graphene-sheet-based carbon dots engineered by the Cheng lab at College of Engineering.
In Advanced Science, the cover highlights the Fang group’s discovery that the photoexcited Franck-Condon excess energy provides a more accurate driving force for predicting excited-state proton transfer in nonfluorescent derivatives of the green fluorescent protein chromophore. The work bridges thermodynamics and kinetics with high spectral and temporal resolution, strengthening the predictive and engineering power for light-driven processes in aqueous chemical, biological and energy systems.
