Pr. Dan Oron - Weizmann Institute of Science

**Dan Oron ** *Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel* --- Our group works on a variety of topics, ranging from the synthesis and study of the optical properties of nanocrystals, through nanoparticle-based devices and advanced imaging methods to the study of the relationship between structure and optical function in biological systems. We are continuously looking for new ways to manipulate both light and matter so as to control the interaction between them. In this presentation, I will report our study of the role of organic crystals and particularly the role of their extreme birefringence in structural coloration and optical systems in Nature and their biomimetics. ---  **References** 1. Damselflies overcome color saturation barriers of photonic glasses via pigment loading and refractive index modulation, Lemcoff T., Alus L., Batushansky A. et al. (2026) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS. 123, 23, e252743312. 2. Single Pulse Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Super-Resolved Image Scanning Microscopy, Soffer Y. & Oron D. (2025) ACS Photonics. 12, 10, p. 5697-5704. 3. Organic Crystals and Optical Functions in Biology: Knowns and Unknowns, Addadi L., Kronik L., Leiserowitz L., Oron D. & Weiner S. (2024) Advanced Materials. 36, 38, 2408060. 4. Bio-Inspired Crystalline Core-Shell Guanine Spherulites, Alus L., Houben L., Shaked N., Niazov-Elkan A., Pinkas I., Oron D. & Addadi L. (2024) Advanced Materials. 36, 28, 2308832. 5. Brilliant whiteness in shrimp from ultra-thin layers of birefringent nanospheres, Lemcoff T., Alus L., Haataja J. S. et al. (2023) Nature Photonics. 17, 6, p. 485-493.