Fayer's group develops and applies ultrafast 2D infrared spectroscopy to resolve structural dynamics of water, proteins, and complex fluids on femtosecond-to-picosecond timescales, pushing the temporal resolution of vibrational spectroscopy well past what linear methods can access.

Olaya-Castro leads theoretical research on quantum phenomena in biological systems. Research directions: (1) Quantum coherence in photosynthesis — open quantum systems theory for energy transfer in light-harvesting complexes, probing whether quantum coherence provides functional advantage; vibronic coupling models for chromophore-protein complexes; (2) Counting statistics and noise in exciton and charge transfer; (3) Quantum thermodynamics of biomolecular machines — efficiency limits and entropy production in molecular motors; (4) Non-classical features of electronic/vibrational dynamics in chromophores; (5) Connections between quantum information measures and biological function. Collaborates with Bain and Llorente-Garcia on joint experiment/theory biosensing projects. Theoretical work only — no experimental activity.

Uses ultrafast multidimensional spectroscopy to study structural dynamics of biomolecules. Directions: (1) 2D IR spectroscopy of protein folding, water dynamics, and membrane systems with sub-100-fs time resolution; (2) single-molecule FRET for resolving conformational heterogeneity in proteins and nucleic acids; (3) development of ultrafast mid-IR laser sources and pulse shaping for 2D spectroscopy. Resolves dynamics inaccessible to other methods.