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Organic Semiconductors – From OLED displays to new applications
Richard Friend
Professor of Physics
Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
4:00 PM
Rackham Amphitheatre
Horace H. Rackham Graduate School (U-M Central Campus)
There will be a reception before the lecture, beginning at 3:30 PM, in Assembly Hall across from the Amphitheatre. Seating will also begin at 3:30 PM.
This lecture will be in-person and livestreamed at https://myumi.ch/3RJAp
Lecture Abstract: Organic molecules with semiconducting properties are now used as the light-emitting diodes, LEDs, in organic LEDdisplays. These are now the dominant technologies for high-performance displays used in smartphones and televisions, but their potential applications are far broader, from solar cells to printable electronics to bio-interfaces. I will describe some of the journey from early discoveries to practical display technology, and outline some of our current research on the new phenomena these materials can exhibit, including their use as optically-accessed quantum sensors.
More Information: Professor Richard Friend is a globally recognized leader in physics and materials science whose pioneering research has revolutionized the field of organic electronics. Based at the University of Cambridge, Professor Friend’s work has led to transformative technologies—including flexible displays, printable solar cells, and next-generation lighting. A co-founder of multiple tech companies and a recipient of numerous international honors, he bridges fundamental science and real-world innovation. His lecture will provide a rare opportunity to hear from one of the world’s most influential physicists, who is driving the future of energy and electronics.
Location: Rackham Amphitheatre
University of Michigan Ann Arbor Campus
915 E. Washington Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
The Rackham Amphitheatre is located on the fourth floor of the Rackham Building. Doors to the fourth floor Rackham Amphitheatre will open at 3:30 p.m. for seating. Please come early to find a seat.
A seating overflow room will be set up in Assembly Hall on the fourth floor near the Rackham Amphitheatre.
City Parking: Maynard Street Parking Structure
324 Maynard St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Questions? Contact Carol Rabuck, crabuck@umich.edu
Previous lectures in this series:
- 2023 Dr. Sean Carroll: Secrets of Einstein's Equations
- 2022 Dr. Pablo Jarillo-Herrero: The Magic of Moiré Quantum Matter
- 2020 Dr. Philip H. Bucksbaum: Tracking the Motion Inside Molecules with X-Ray Lasers
- 2019 Dr. Sandra Faber: General Relativity: Creator and Killer of Galaxies
- 2018 Dr. Susan Coppersmith: From Bits to Qubits: A Quantum Leap for Computers
- 2017 Dr. Andrea Ghez: The Monster at the Heart of Our Galaxy
- 2016 Dr. H. Eugene Stanley: Are There Two Forms of Water?
- 2015: No Lecture This Year
- 2014: No Lecture This Year
- 2013 Dr. Nigel Lockyer: The Higgs is One Piece of the Mass Puzzle: Toward a New Understanding of the Quantum Universe
- 2012 Dr. Frank von Hippel: A Global Cleanout of Nuclear Weapon Materials
- 2011 Physics Nobel Laureate William D. Phillips: Time, Einstein, and the Coolest Stuff in the Universe
- 2010 Terry Tao: The Cosmic Distance Ladder
- 2009 Alan Guth: Inflationary Cosmology: Is Our Universe Part of a Multiverse?
- 2008 Margaret Geller: Newton Meets Einstein: Mapping Dark Matter in the Universe
- 2007 Kip Thorne: The Warped Side of the Universe from the Big Bang to Black Holes and Gravitational Waves
- 2006 Physics Nobel laureate Saul Perlmutter: Supernovae, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Universe -- What Next?
- 2005 Physics Nobel laureate Wolfgang Ketterle: When Freezing Cold is Not Cold Enough -- New Forms of Matter at Close to Absolute Zero Temperature
- 2004 Physics Nobel laureate Robert B. Laughlin: The Emergent Age
- 2003 Physics Nobel laureate Carl E. Wieman: Bose-Einstein Condensation: Quantum Weirdness at the Lowest Temperature in the Universe
- 2002 Sir Michael Atiyah: Geometry and Physics: A Marriage Made in Heaven
- 2001 Mildred S. Dresselhaus: Frontiers in Nanoscience
