Date: 2009. 6. 25, 11:00 AM Place: Rm. 404, Bldg 503 -Abstract- Plastic-based opto-electronic devices are highly attractive due to low prices, flexibility and tunability of conjugated organic materials. However, the versatility of the organic synthetic route is also their crux - its full exploration requires an understanding of all parameters which control the final functionality. This concerns both, intra-molecular properties as well as inter-molecular interactions, which in turn are controlled by the intra-molecular characteristics. The lecture will demonstrate how an inter-disciplinary approach at the crossroad of material science, spectroscopy and theory allows to gain a systematic insight of intra- and intermolecular contributions to the electronic and optical properties of condensed phase conjugated organic materials. Choosing well-defined and fully characterized oligomeric materials, the role of backbone modification, chain conformation, substitution patterns and specific intermolecular arrangements are addressed.