Elad Harel is used to shining a light on the mysteries of the natural world.

Working at the cutting edge of ultrafast spectroscopy—the use of short laser pulses to analyze molecular dynamics—the Michigan State University associate professor seeks to uncover how microscopic phenomena impact large complex systems.

One promising frontier Harel has been working on is the development of new methods of microscopy that will allow researchers to observe molecular and atomic landscapes in motion rather than through static imagery. Such work has earned Harel MSU’s 2023 Innovation of the Year award, as well as MSU’s first-ever grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation.