In this project, funded by the MPS-LEAPS (Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways) Program and managed by the Division of Chemistry (CHE), Professor Bangle and her students at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University will perform studies focused on the improvement of light harvesting for photocatalysis via upconversion. Photocatalysis uses light energy to drive desirable chemical reactions, but many such reactions require high energy blue and green light and waste low energy red and infrared light. Upconversion is a promising strategy to improve photocatalysis efficiency by combining two low-energy photons into one high-energy photon capable of activating photocatalysts. Professor Bangle and her students will improve the efficiency of upconversion by integrating upconverting supramolecular assemblies into nano-scale plasmonic cavities and engineering the light-matter interactions in the cavities to promote intermolecular energy transfer. Their studies could produce upconverting surfaces which use low energy light to drive reactions when integrated into a wide variety of existing photocatalytic systems. This research will introduce early-career undergraduate students to advanced training in chemical and physical experiments and encourage further scientific education. Professor Bangle and her students will use a combination of surface chemistry, chemical synthesis, nanofabrication, and ultrafast optical measurements to create bespoke nanocavities and supram