Dr. Dimosthenis Sokaras is a Senior Scientist at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the National Technical University of Athens in 2010. Dr. Sokaras's research is dedicated to advancing sustainable chemical energy transformations. Utilizing the advanced characteristics of modern X-ray sources, he specializes in developing and applying operando and time-resolved X-ray techniques to study and reveal the local electronic structures of cutting-edge catalytic materials and molecular complexes in actual operating conditions. His work focuses on uncovering the functional mechanisms of thermal, electrochemical, and photocatalysts, as well as photoabsorbers, thus providing key design insights and enhancing predictive understanding. Over his career, Dr. Sokaras has authored over 230 publications in leading international peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Angel T. Garcia-Esparza is currently a Project Scientist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He completed a Ph.D. in Chemical Science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in 2016. He was a postdoctoral scholar at École Normale Supérieure de Lyon in France, and then a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University working at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL). His research interests include (photo)electrochemistry, artificial photosynthesis and heterogeneous catalysis.
Dr. Alec H. Follmer obtained his B.Sc in Biochemistry from University of the Pacific in 2014 where he began his research career in biophysical chemistry. He then earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of California, Irvine (UCI), in 2019 under the supervision of Prof. Thomas Poulos. His doctoral work utilized molecular dynamics and X-ray crystallography to propose and characterize novel allosterically induced conformational dynamics in cytochrome P450cam. As a postdoctoral fellow at California Institute of Technology, he studied ultrafast chemical physics, where he examined the excited state dynamics of transition metal complexes and metalloproteins. He is currently an Assistant Project Scientist at UCI where he is continuing his work applying time-resolved structural and spectroscopic techniques towards the characterization of metalloenzyme dynamics and mechanisms.
Dr. Roberto Alonso-Mori is currently a Lead Scientist within the LCLS Chemical Sciences Department at SLAC and the Group Lead of the Biochemistry and Condensed Phase Chemistry Group composed of >10 scientists, RA’s and students. This group is responsible for experiments on ultrafast photochemical dynamics in condensed phase performed at multiple LCLS instruments. He joined SLAC in 2009 after obtaining his bachelor's degree in Physics from the University of Oviedo in Spain followed by a Master of Science in Physics by the University of Grenoble in France and a PhD in Earth Science from the University of Camerino in Italy, both through research performed at the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) in Grenoble, France. He started his SLAC career as a Research Associate working at both SSRL and LCLS light sources and later held different positions at LCLS until his current role as a Lead Scientist and Group Lead. His research interests include spectroscopy, X-ray scattering, synchrotron radiation and experimental physics.
