Otis Booth Leadership Chair, Division of Engineering and Applied Science; Howard Hughes Professor of Applied Physics and Materials Science; Director, Liquid Sunlight Alliance
Professor Atwater's research focuses on quantum and nanophotonics, metamaterials and metasurfaces, artificial photosynthesis, two-dimensional materials, nano- and micro-structured photovoltaics, space solar power and plasmonics.
Professor Bellan's research area is plasma physics with applications to fusion energy, solar physics, astrophysics, high altitude atmospheric phenomena, and the rings of Saturn. The research is mainly experimental but there is also substantial related theoretical effort. The research involves two major groups:(1) high power fast pulsed plasmas that simulate solar coronal loops, astrophysical jets, and have fusion applications and (2) water ice dusty plasmas relevant to noctilucent clouds and Saturn's rings.
Marco Bernardi's research focuses on theoretical and computational materials physics. His group develops new first-principles methods to investigate electron transport, ultrafast dynamics and light-matter interactions in materials. Applications of this research include electronics, optoelectronics, ultrafast spectroscopy, energy and quantum technologies.
Prof. Daraio's research focuses on engineering new materials with advanced mechanical and sensing properties, for application in robotics, medical devices, and vibration absorption. Her group developed new materials and methods for acoustic imaging and thermal sensing in medicine and health monitoring. Recently, her group began exploring new materials from engineered living systems, creating plant-based biological matrix composites with new functionalities.
Professor Dimotakis focuses on experimental and computational research on turbulent mixing and chemical reactions in subsonic and supersonic free-shear flows; hypersonic propulsion; mixing and the geometry of surfaces and interfaces in turbulence; scalar dispersion in turbulent flows; and related areas.
Space-Related Research
Recent space-related research has been in collaboration with JPL on remote sensing of the atmosphere from space and on the technical feasibility of an asteroid-return mission. Other space-related research has been on high-speed/hypersonic endoatmospheric flight and propulsion, and parachute dynamics for entry, descent, and landing, as well as physics and issues related to a Europa melt-probe to descend to the liquid-water layer.
Professor Elowitz's research focuses on creating and analyzing biological "circuits" of interacting genes and proteins. By programming new functions in living cells, his group seeks to uncover fundamental principles of circuit design and develop next generation cell and gene therapies. Recent work focuses on circuits that provide key functions required for multicellularity, including computation, communication, and memory.
Faraon's research interests are in solid state quantum optics and nano-photonics. Applications include quantum information processing, on-chip optical signal processing at ultra-low power levels, energy efficient sensors, bio-photonics.
Professor Fultz focuses on materials physics and materials chemistry, presently with two emphases. One is on the origin of entropy, as studied by neutron scattering and computation. This has expanded to other thermophysical properties. The second is on new materials for energy storage, especially H-storage materials.
Goddard has been a pioneer in developing methods for quantum mechanics (QM), force fields (FF), reactive dynamics (ReaxFF RD), electron dynamics (eFF), molecular dynamics (MD), and Monte Carlo (MC) predictions on chemical, catalytic, and biochemical materials systems.
Professor Marandi's research is focused on fundamental technological developments in Nonlinear Photonics through exploring the frontiers of ultrafast optics, optical frequency combs, quantum optics, optical information processing, mid-infrared photonics, and laser spectroscopy. His team works on realization of novel nonlinear photonic devices and systems for applications ranging from sensing to unconventional computing and information processing, as well as advancing the theoretical understanding of them.
Professor Minnich's research focuses on advancing microwave and millimeter-wave technology used in radio astronomy, quantum information science, and other applications. Current topics include investigation of electronic noise and nanofabrication processes for ultralow noise transistor amplifiers and quantum simulation using superconducting qubit quantum computers.
Mirhosseini's research is on the experimental aspects of quantum engineering. His current research focuses on developing and combining superconducting circuits with chip-based phononic and photonic devices at milikelvin temperatures. Long term research goal is to realize interfaces between circuit quantum electrodynamics and quantum optics for applications in quantum computing, communication, and sensing.
Stevan Nadj-Perge is interested in development of mesoscopic devices for applications in quantum information processing. Such devices also provide a playground for exploring exotic electronic states at (sub)-nano length scales. In his research, he is using scanning tunneling microscopy and electrical transport measurement techniques at cryogenic temperatures.
Professor Oskar Painter's research interests are in nanophotonics, quantum optics, and optomechanics for applications in precision measurement and quantum information science.
Professor Phillips focuses on physical biology of the cell: models of transcription and active matter, physical genomes, and biophysical approaches to evolution.
Professor Scherer's group focuses on the application of microfabrication to integrated microsystems. Recently, his group has specialized on developing sensors and diagnostic tools that can be used for low-cost point-of-care disease detection as well as precision health monitoring.
Professor Scherer has pioneered microcavity lasers and filters, and now his group works on integration of microfluidic chips with electronic, photonic and magnetic sensors. His group has also developed silicon nanophotonics and surface plasmon enhanced light emitting diodes, and has perfected the fabrication and characterization of ultra-small structures by lithography and electron microscopy.
Presently, his group works on integration of microfluidic chips with electronic, photonic and magnetic sensors. His group has also developed silicon nanophotonics and surface plasmon enhanced light emitting diodes, and has perfected the fabrication and characterization of ultra-small structures by lithography and electron microscopy.
Professor Schwab's current focus is the development of Josephson junctions for superfluid helium-4 with the goal to build quantum devices such as interferometers and quantum bits from this material. What makes this now possible are the advances in 2d nanometerials with nanometer pores.
Prof. Troian's current research focuses on controlling the flow of liquid, heat or light in micro/nanoscale systems by spatiotemporal modulation of surface forces involving Maxwell, capillary, thermocapillary, Marangoni or van der Waals fields. Studies rely on mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of high-order nonlinear PDEs with and without noise; particle based modeling and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation; and laboratory experimentation based on various microscopy and image processing techniques. Applications include
3D sculpting of micro-optical arrays for spatial or temporal beam shaping
Electrohydrodynamic micropropulsion systems for space precision pointing
Liquid cooling strategies for minimizing thermal boundary resistance in power dense CPUs
Thermal rectification in small scale systems
Self-propulsion mechanisms in active matter like Interfacial swimmers.
Ted and Ginger Jenkins Professor of Information Science and Technology and Applied Physics; Executive Officer for Applied Physics and Materials Science
Kerry Vahala has pioneered nonlinear optics in high-Q optical micro resonators. His research group has launched many of the areas of study in this field and invented optical resonators that hold the record for highest optical Q on a semiconductor chip. Vahala has applied these devices to a wide range of nonlinear phenomena and applications. This includes the first demonstration of parametric oscillation and cascaded four-wave mixing in a micro cavity - the central regeneration mechanisms for frequency micro combs; electro-optical frequency division - used in the most stable commercial K-band oscillators; and the first observation of dynamic back action in cavity optomechanical systems. His micro-resonator devices are used at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in chip-based optical clocks and frequency synthesizers. They have also been used at the Keck II observatory in Hawaii as miniature astrocombs in the search for exoplanets. Vahala's current research is focused on the application of high-Q optical micro resonators to miniature precision metrology systems as well as monolithic optical gyroscopes. Professor Vahala was also involved in the early effort to develop quantum-well lasers for optical communications. That work formed the basis for nearly all of today's high-speed semiconductor laser design for lightwave high-speed telecommunications, particularly in the metropolitan and local-area arena.
Professor Amnon Yariv's research focuses on the theoretical and technological underpinning of optical communication. Present projects include: new types of semiconductor lasers, optical phase-lock systems and coherent photonics, hybrid Si/III-V devices for lasers, detectors and modulation, "Slow" light propagation in artificial periodic dielectric waveguides.
Affiliated Faculty
These faculty are either currently advising Applied Physics graduate students or might be open to accepting Applied Physics graduate students as advisees.
Professor Cushing's research focuses on developing new, laser-based instrumentation for chemistry, physics, quantum, and materials problems. Currently, the Cushing group is developing table-top transient x-ray techniques, on-chip entangled photon spectroscopy, and various ultrafast electron experiments.
Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering; Andrew and Peggy Cherng Medical Engineering Leadership Chair;
Executive Officer for Medical Engineering
Professor Wang's research focuses on quantum imaging and physics, photoacoustic tomography (microscopy and computed tomography), thermoacoustic tomography, light-speed compressed ultrafast photography, and time-reversal optics/wavefront shaping.
Research Professor of Aerospace and Applied Physics
John Sader focuses on collaborative research across many fields, including rarefied gas dynamics, fluid-structure interactions at small and large scales, low and high Reynolds number flows, vortex dynamics, plasmonics, nanoelectromechanical systems, mass spectrometry, colloid science and the stability of mechanical structures. He has developed experimental methods used in atomic force microscopy.
