Salomon van Niekerk

Salomon van Niekerk

PhD Student

University of Pretoria

There are multiple ways of tracking a single molecule/particle using light. At present, a few of these techniques require the tracked molecule to have a fluorescence mechanism, but this limits the set of particles that can be tracked as not all single molecules fluoresce. A technique not limited by this requirement is interferometric scattering, iSCAT. Depending only on the particle in question’s ability to scatter light, this technique broadens the set of particles that can be studied. This technique is not without its own limits. One of which is the immense problem that signal noise presents. Machine learning and other modeling processes will be used to develop a iSCAT set-up that can do single particle tracking in real time over three dimensions.

Interests
  • Single particle tracking
  • Single-molecule spectroscopy
  • Interferometric scattering (iSCAT)
  • Machine learning and computer modelling
Education & Experience
  • MSc in Astrophysics, 2024

    North-West University

  • BSc (Hons) in Physics, 2022

    North-West University

  • BSc in Physics, 2021

    North-West University