In 2019, Robert Alfano received SPIE (Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) Gold Medal Award, the highest honor bestowed by the society.
Robert Alfano is an Italian-American experimental physicist. He is a Distinguished Professor of Science and Engineering at the City College and Graduate School of New York of the City University of New York, where he is also the founding Director of the Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers (1982). He is a pioneer in the fields of Biomedical Imaging and Spectroscopy, Ultrafast lasers and optics, tunable lasers, semiconductor materials and devices, optical materials, biophysics, nonlinear optics and photonics; he has also worked extensively in nanotechnology and coherent backscattering. His discovery of the white-light supercontinuum laser is at the root of optical coherence tomography, which is breaking barriers in ophthalmology, cardiology, and oral cancer detection (see "Better resolution with multibeam OCT," page 28) among other applications. He initiated the field known now as Optical Biopsy
He recently calculated he has brought in $62 million worth of funding to CUNY during his career, averaging $1.7 million per year. He states that he has accomplished this feat by "hitting the pavement"; he developed a habit of aggressively reaching out to funding partners and getting them interested in his work. Alfano has made discoveries that have furthered biomedical optics, in addition to fields such as optical communications, solid-state physics, and metrology.
Alfano has an outstanding track record for achievements regarding the development of biomedical instruments. His contributions to photonics are documented in more than 700 research articles, 102 patents, several edited volumes and conference proceedings, and well over 10,000 citations. He holds 45 patents and published over 230 articles in the biomedical optics area alone. His discovery of the white-light supercontinuum laser is at the root of optical coherence tomography, which is breaking barriers in ophthalmology, cardiology, and oral cancer detection (see "Better resolution with multibeam OCT," page 28) among other applications. Alfano has trained and mentored over 52 PhD candidates and 50 post-doctoral students. For the past ten years, he has trained innumerable high school students in hands on photonics.
Areas of Expertise/Research
Bonding of Tissues with Light
Biomedical Optics and Detection of Cancer with Light Spectroscopy
Expertise in Properties of Light and Photonics
Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers
Physics and Electrical Engineering
Science and Engineering
Find more information at : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Alfano#
AWARDS
Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award
Charles Hard Townes Medal
Plenary Speaker, Chief Planning Committee member, LOPSTM
# SPIE Gold Medal (2019)
# Founding Director of the Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers (1982)
# Pioneer, Biomedical Imaging, Spectroscopy, Ultrafast lasers, Optics, Tunable Lasers
semiconductor materials devices, optical materials, biophysics, nonlinear optics and photonics
# Discoverer, white-light Supercontinuum laser | # 700 research articles, 102 patents # 10,000 citations
# 45 patents and 230 articles: Biomedical optics area | # SPIE Gold Medal 2019
# American Physical Society Arthur Schawlow Award 2013
# OSA Charles Townes Award 2008
# Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award 2012
# Coherent Lifetime Achievement Award in Biomedical Optics 2002
# Fellow, the American Physical Society (APS) | # Fellow, Optical Society (OSA)
# Fellow, New York Academy of Sciences
# Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
# Fellow, the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE)
# Eastern New York Intellectual Property Law Association (ENYIPLA)
Inventor of Year award (2018) |
# OSA Michael S. Field Biophotonics Award (2016)
# APS Arthur L Schawlow Prize in Laser Science (2013)
# CCNY President's Inaugural Award for Excellence (2013)
# Association of Italian American Educators “Lifetime Achievement Award” (2012)
# SPIE Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award (2012
# Optical Society of America Charles Hard Townes Award (2008)
# Coherent Award for Lifetime Achievement in Biophotonics (2002)
# Fellow of IEEE – January 1, 2001 to present.
Fellow of New York Academy of Sciences (1999-present)
# Leonardo Da Vinci Award (1991) | # Fellow of Optical Society of America (1989 to date)
# Outstanding Italian-American Award for Science (1983)
# Research Corporation Award Fellow of American Physical Society (1976 to date)
A. P. Sloan Fellow 1975-80
Professor Boyd was born in Buffalo, NY. He received the BS degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in 1977 received the PhD degree in physics from the University of California at Berkeley. His PhD thesis work was supervised by Professor Charles Townes and involves the use of nonlinear optical techniques for infrared detection. Professor Boyd joined the faculty of the Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester in 1977 and is presently Professor of Optics and Professor of Physics.
In 2010, Professor Boyd was awarded a highly competitive Canada Excellence Research Chair at the University of Ottawa. He currently directs a major research center at the University of Ottawa while still maintaining a significant research presence at the University of Rochester. Professor Boyd’s research areas include optical physics, nonlinear optical interactions, nonlinear optical properties of materials, and applications of nonlinear optics including quantum and nonlinear optical imaging. Professor Boyd is a fellow of the Optical Society of America and a fellow of the American Physical Society. He is author of Radiometry and the Detection of Optical Radiation (1983), Nonlinear Optics (1992), is co-editor of Optical Instabilities (1986) and Contemporary Nonlinear Optics (1992). Professor Boyd has published approximately 350 research papers, has been awarded nine US patents, and has supervised the PhD theses of 33 students. Robert Boyd’s Ottawa website is http://www.boydnlo.ca.
Research Interests:
Nonlinear Optics
Steven Chu is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics, of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and of Energy Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He received an A.B. degree in mathematics and a B.S. degree in physics from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Berkeley, he was at Bell Labs as a member of the technical staff in 1978 and then department head in 1983. From January 2009 to April, 2013, Dr. Chu served as U.S. Secretary of Energy under President Barack Obama. During his tenure, he began several initiatives, including ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy), the Energy Innovation Hubs, and the Clean Energy Ministerial meetings. As the first scientist Cabinet member, Chu recruited dozens outstanding scientists and engineers to the Department of Energy, and was personally tasked by President Obama to help stop the BP Oil leak. From 2004-2009, he was the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Professor of Physics and of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California Berkeley. Prior to those positions, he was the Theodore and Francis Geballe Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Stanford University. During this time, he helped start Bio-X, a multi-disciplinary initiative combining the physical and biological sciences with engineering and medicine. His contributions include the introduction of laser cooling and optical trapping of atoms and particles, atomic fountain clocks and atom interferometers, the optical tweezers of biomolecules, and single molecule FRET of biomolecules tethered to surfaces. His current research is in biophysics, molecular and cellular physiology, medical imaging, nanoparticle synthesis and battery research. He has received many awards, including the 1997 Nobel Prize for laser cooling and optical trapping of atoms. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Inventors, and a foreign member of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Academia Sinica, the Korean Academy of Sciences and Technology and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He received an A.B. degree in mathematics, and a B.S. degree in physics from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, and 35 honorary degrees.
Federico Capasso received the doctor of Physics degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Rome, Italy, in 1973 and after doing research in fiber optics at Fondazione Bordoni in Rome, joined Bell Labs in 1976. In 1984, he was made a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff and in 1997 a Bell Labs Fellow. In addition to his research activity Capasso has held several management positions at Bell Labs including Head of the Quantum Phenomena and Device Research Department and the Semiconductor Physics Research Department (1987–2000) and Vice President of Physical Research (2000–2002). He joined Harvard on January 1, 2003.
AWARDS:
Duddell Medal and Prize (2002)
Edison Medal (2004)
SPIE Gold Medal (2013)
Balzan Prize (2016)
Matteucci Medal (2019)
Citations (Google Scholar): Over 100 000
H-index (Google Scholar): Over 150
Publications: Over 500 peer-reviewed journals
Patents: Over 70 US patents
Key achievements:
Bandstructure Engineering.and Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs)
Metasurfaces and Flat optics
Casimir forces
Awards
2021 Frederic Ives Medal and Jarus W. Quinn Prize, Optical Society of America
2020 Honorary Award, IEEE Italy Section
2019 Matteucci Medal, Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze, detta dei XL
2019 Guglelmo Marconi Science Award, UNICO
2018 Fermi Prize of the Italian Physical Society
2017 Kenneth Button Prize, International Society of Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves and Institute of Physics (UK)
2016 Balzan Prize for Applied Photonics, Balzan Foundation
2015 Rumford Prize, American Academy of Arts and Science
2013 Gold Medal of SPIE |
2013 European Physical Society Quantum Electronics and Optics Award
2013 Humboldt Research Award
2011 Jan Czochralski Award of the European Materials Research Society
2011 Galileo Galilei Medal of the Italian Society for Optics and Photonics
2010 Julius Springer Prize in Applied Physics
2010 Berthold Leibinger Zukunft Prize (Future prize)
2005 King Faisal International Prize for Science
2005 Gold Medal of the President of Italy for meritorious achievement in science
2004 Edison Medal, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
2004 Arhur Schawlow Prize in Laser Science, American Physical Society
2004 Tommasoni & Chisesi Prize for Outstanding Achievements in Physics
2003 Goff Smith Prize and Lecture, University of Michigan
2002 Duddell Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics (London, UK)
2001 Robert Wood Prize of the Optical Society of America
2000 Willis E. Lamb Medal for Laser Physics and Quantum Optics
2000 NASA Group Achievement Award
1998 IEEE/Laser & Electrooptics Society W. Streifer Award for Scientific Achievement
1998 Rank Prize in Optoelectronics (UK)
1998 Capitolium Prize of the Mayor of Rome, Italy
1997 Wetherill Medal of the Franklin Institute
1997 Bell Laboratories Fellow Award
1995 Materials Research Society Medal
1995 Moet Hennessy•Louis Vuitton “Leonardo da Vinci” Award of Excellence (France)
1995 Newcomb Cleveland Prize of the American Assosciation for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for best paper published in Science
1995 Electronics Letters Prize of the Institute of Electrical Engineers (London, UK)
1994 Heinrich Welker Memorial Medal (Germany) and International CompoundSemiconductors Symposium Award
1993 The New York Academy of Sciences Award
1991 IEEE David Sarnoff Award in Electronics
1984 Bell Laboratories Distinguished Member of Technical Staff Award
Memberships/Fellowships
2019 Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
2015 Member, Academia Europaea
2012 Foreign Member, Accademia dei Lincei
1995 Member, National Academy of Sciences
1996 Member, National Academy of Engineering
1998 Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
1999 Fellow, The Institute of Physics (UK)
1997 Honorary Member, of the Franklin Institute
1992 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
1991 Fellow, International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE)
1989 Fellow, Optical Society of America
1987 Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
1986 Fellow, American Physical Society
Honorary Doctorates and Other Honors
2019 Honorary issue of Nanophotonics (Volume 7, Issue 6, Jun 2018) for Federico Capasso on “Metamaterials & Metasurfaces”
2011 Honorary Doctorate University Paris Diderot, France
2011 Honorary Doctorate of Technology, Lund University, Sweden
2011 Honorary Doctorate in Materials Science, University of Roma III, Italy
2003 Honorary Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, University of Bologna, Italy
2004 Commendatore of the Italian Republic
For information on Awards and Achievements follow:https://capasso.seas.harvard.edu/federico-capasso
Prof. Alan Willner received the Ph.D. (1988) in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, as well as a B.A. (1982) in Physics and an Honorary Degree (Honoris Causa, 2012) from Yeshiva University. Prof. Willner was a Postdoctoral Member of the Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories and a Member of Technical Staff at Bellcore. He is currently the Steven and Kathryn Sample Chaired Professor in Engineering and Distinguished Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering in the Ming Hsieh Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering of the Viterbi School of Engineering at the Univ. of Southern California; he also has a joint appointment with the Dept. of Physics & Astronomy in the USC Dornsife College. Prof. Willner has been: a Visiting Professor at Columbia University, the Univ. College London, and the Weizmann Institute of Science; and a Visiting Scholar at Yeshiva University. He is a Member of the U.S. Army Science Board, was a Member of the Defense Sciences Research Council (a 16-member body that provided reports to the DARPA Director and Office Directors), has served on many scientific advisory boards for small companies, and has advised several venture capital firms. Additionally, Prof. Willner was Founder and CTO of Phaethon Communications, a company whose technology was acquired by Teraxion, that created the ClearSpectrum® dispersion compensator product line which is presently deployed in many commercial 40-Gbit/s systems worldwide.
Prof. Willner has received the following honors/awards: Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, International Fellow of the U.K. Royal Academy of Engineering, Presidential Faculty Fellows Award from the White House, Ellis Island Medal of Honor, IEEE Eric E. Sumner Award, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, David & Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship in Science & Engineering, Thomas Egleston Medal for Distinguished Engineering Achievement from Columbia Eng. Alumni Association, U.S. Vannevar Bush Defense Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowship (formerly NSSEFF), Fellow of National Academy of Inventors, Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) J.J. Thomson Medal, National Science Foundation National Young Investigator Award, Fulbright Foundation Senior Scholar Research and Lecturing Fellowship, Honorary Professor of Huazhong Univ. of Science & Technology, the Optical Society (OSA) Paul Forman Engineering Excellence Award, IEEE Photonics Society Engineering Achievement Award, SPIE President's Award, IEEE Photonics Society Distinguished Lecturer Award, IEEE Photonics Society Distinguished Service Award, USC Associates Award for University-Wide Creativity in Research (highest university research award), OSA Robert Hopkins Leadership Award, Civilian Service Commendation Medal from the U.S. Dept. of the Army, USC Associates Award for University-Wide Excellence in Teaching (highest university teaching award), USC Phi Kappa Phi Faculty Recognition Award (for significant scholarly work), USC Senior Engineering Research Award, USC/TRW Best Engineering Teacher Award, USC/Northrop Outstanding Junior Engineering Faculty Research Award, 2001 Eddy Paper Award from Pennwell Publications for the Best Contributed Technical Article (across all 30 magazines in Pennwell's Advanced Technology Division), IEEE Globecom Best Paper Award, and Edwin Howard Armstrong Foundation Memorial Award for the highest-ranked EE Masters student at Columbia University. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, APS, IEEE, IET, OSA and SPIE, and he was a Fellow of the Semiconductor Research Corporation. Prof. Willner was an invited foreign dignitary representing the sciences for the 2009 Nobel Prize Ceremonies in Stockholm.
Prof. Willner's professional activities:
Co-Chair, U.S. National Academies Committee on the Optics and Photonics Study
President, The Optical Society (OSA) | President, The IEEE Photonics Society (formerly LEOS)
Co-Chair, Science & Engineering Council of the OSA
Vice-President, Technical Affairs of the IEEE Photonics Society, Photonics Division
Chair, OSA
Chair, IEEE TAB Ethics and Member Conduct Committee, General & Program
Co-Chair, the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO), Program Co-Chair of the OSA Annual Meeting
General Chair of the IEEE LEOS Annual Meeting, Program Chair of Telecommunications Engineering at SPIE's Photonics West
Chair of the Unclassified Technical Program for IEEE MILCOM, Elected Member of the Board of Governors for the IEEE Photonics Society
General Co-Chair of the IEEE Photonics Society Topical Meeting on Broadband Networks, Steering Committee and Technical Committee Member of the Conference on Optical Fiber Communications (OFC),
Member, US Advisory Committee for Int'l Commission for Optics (activity of the National Academies, IEEE, OSA and SPIE).
Editorial positions:
Editor-in-Chief, IEEE/OSA Journal of Light wave Technology (JLT)
Editor-in-Chief, OSA Optics Letters
Editor-in-Chief, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics
Associate Editor, IEEE Journal of Selected Areas in Communications Series on Optical Networks (now IEEE/OSA JOCN)
Guest Editor, JLT
JSAC for the Joint Special Issue on Multiple-Wavelength Technologies & Networks
Guest Editor, IEEE J. of Quantum Electronics Focus Issue on High-Capacity Optical Transmission Systems.
Prof. Willner has >1500 publications, including one book, 10 edited books, ~44 U.S. patents, ~47 keynotes/plenaries, ~24 book chapters, >400 refereed journal papers, and >300 invited papers/presentations. His research is in optical technologies, including: communications, signal processing, networks, and subsystems.
Louis F. DiMauro is Professor of Physics and Hagenlocker Chair at the Ohio State University. He received his BA (1975) from Hunter College, CUNY and his Ph.D. from University of Connecticut in 1980 and was a postdoctoral fellow at SUNY at Stony Brook before arriving at AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1981. He joined the staff at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1988 rising to the rank of senior scientist. In 2004 he joined the faculty at The Ohio State University. He was awarded 2004 BNL/BSA Science & Technology Prize, 2012 OSU Distinguish Scholar Award, the 2013 OSA Meggers Prize and the 2017 APS Schawlow Prize in Laser Science. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Optical Society of American and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is currently the Director of the Institute for Optical Science and co-Director of the NSF NeXUS facility and the OSU Chemical Physics graduate program. He has served on numerous national and international committees, government panels, served as the 2010 APS DAMOP chair, vice-chair of the NAS CAMOS committee and currently serves on the NAS Board of Physics and Astronomy. His research interest is in experimental ultra-fast and strong-field physics. In 1993, he and his collaborators introduced the widely accepted semi-classical model in strong-field physics. His current work is focused on the generation, measurement, and application of attosecond x-ray pulses, study of fundamental scaling of strong field physics and application of x-ray free electron lasers.
Paul Corkum graduated from Lehigh University, USA, in 1972 with a Ph. D. in theoretical physics. In 1973 he joined the staff of the National Research Council of Canada where he built one of the world’s most famous groups working on the interaction of very short light pulses with matter. Corkum is a Full Professor of Physics, a Distinguished Research Chair at the University of Ottawa and directs the Joint NRC/University of Ottawa Attosecond Science Laboratory. He is a member of the Royal Societies of London and of Canada and also a foreign member of the US National Academy of Science, the Austrian Academy of Science, and the Russian Academy of Sciences. Among his many honours and recognitions, he has received the 2017 Royal Medal, for his major contributions to laser physics and the development of the field of attosecond science, as well as the National Research Council of Canada’s Schneider Medal, their highest distinction bestowed upon employees. In 2018, Corkum was awarded both the SPIE Gold Medal, and the Isaac Newton Medal and Prize from the UK Institute of Physics, and is a recipient of the 2019 Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics. Most recently, The Wolf Foundation selected Corkum as a 2022 Wolf Prize Laureate in Physics and in 2023 he is a co-recipient of the BBVA Foundation 15th Edition Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences.
MAJOR SCIENTIFIC HONOURS
⋅ Wolf Prize in Physics, Wolf Foundation, 2022
⋅ Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics, 2019
⋅ Isaac Newton Medal and Prize, Institute of Physics, 2018
⋅ SPIE Gold Medal, 2018
⋅ Schneider Medal, National Research Council Canada, 2017
⋅ Royal Medal, Royal Society, 2017
⋅ Foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2016
⋅ Lomonosov Gold Medal of the Russian Academy of Sciences, (for outstanding contribution
in ultrafast physics), 2015
⋅ Thomson Reuters Citation Laureate (awarded to researchers who are “of Nobel class” and likely to earn the Nobel someday), 2015
⋅ Harvey Prize, The Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, 2013
⋅ King Faisal International Prize for Science (Physics), 2013
⋅ Foreign Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, 2012
⋅ Fellow of Optical Society of America, 2010
⋅ Foreign member of US Academy of Sciences, 2009
⋅ Officer of the Order of Canada, 2007
⋅ Fellow of the American Physical Society, 2007
⋅ The Killam Prize for Physical Sciences, Canada Council of the Arts, 2006
⋅ Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science, American Physical Society, 2006
⋅ Charles Hard Townes Award, Optical Society of America, 2005
⋅ Fellow of the Royal Society (of London), 2005
⋅ Fellow of the Institute of Physics, 2002
⋅ Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, 1996
Zenghu Chang(常增虎) is a Canada Excellence Research Chair Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Ottawa who is an author and coauthor of over 350 articles which carry the h-index of 65.[1] His team developed the world's shortest laser pulse in 2013 and was given $6.9 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the U.S. to strengthen the pulses for ultrafast sensors. He is partnering with researchers from other Universities on the project.[2] Since 2018 he is fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Zenghu Chang(常增虎) is a Canada Excellence Research Chair Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Ottawa who is an author and coauthor of over 350 articles which carry the h-index of 65.[1] His team developed the world's shortest laser pulse in 2013 and was given $6.9 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the U.S. to strengthen the pulses for ultrafast sensors. He is partnering with researchers from other Universities on the project.[2] Since 2018 he is fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
Professor Hielscher leads the recently established Department of Biomedical Engineering and directs research in his Clinical Biophotonics Laboratory (CBL). The mission of the CBL is to establish optical tomography as a viable biomedical imaging modality and transfer this technology into clinical practice. The goal is to develop a patient-centered approach that addresses all aspect of modern precision medicine in state-of-the art healthcare. To this end Prof. Hielscher's team is developing cutting- edge imaging hardware and software that provide 3-dimensional distributions of physiologically relevant parameters such as oxygen saturation or total hemoglobin concentrations and more. This includes the design of wearable devices that allow continuous patient monitoring. The CBL is currently applying this emerging technology in various clinical and preclinical studies that focus on the diagnosis and monitoring breast cancer, arthritis, peripheral artery disease (PAD), and diabetic foot syndrome (DFS). Furthermore, techniques are being developed for real-time monitoring of brain activities.
Manijeh Razeghi is the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Electrical Engineering at Northwestern University and Director of the Center for Quantum Devices, which she founded in 1991 after a successful 10-year career as the Director of Exploratory Materials at Thomson-CSF, France. She is one of the leading scientists in the field of semiconductor science and technology, having pioneered the development and implementation of major modern epitaxial techniques. Her current research interest is in nanoscale optoelectronic quantum devices from deep-UV up to terahertz. At Northwestern University she has commercialized aluminum-free pump lasers, developed type-II superlattices for next generation infrared imagers (an area in which she holds key patents), and currently holds most of the quantum cascade lasers records for high power and tunability. She has authored 18 books, 31 books chapters, and more than 1000 journal publications. She is editor, associate, and board member of many journals, including Nano Science and Nano technology. Her awards include the IBM Europe Science and Technology Prize, the SWE Lifetime Achievement Award, the R.F. Bunshah Award, the IBM faculty award, Jan Czochralski Gold Medal, and many best paper awards. She is a fellow of SWE, SPIE, IEC, OSA, APS, IOP, IEEE, and MRS.
Eric received his physics PhD in 1976 working at the Optical Sciences Center, University of Arizona, and then joined the Center for Laser Studies at the University of Southern California, soon leaving to spend 9 years on the faculty of the University of North Texas. He joined the start of CREOL at the University of Central Florida in 1987, becoming its director in 1999, and its founding Dean in 2004, The College of Optics and Photonics. He is a Fellow of Optica, SPIE, IEEE and APS, 2006 President of Optica/OSA and 2012 R.W. Wood Prize recipient, and a past Board member of LIA. He graduated 42 Ph.D.'s, published >300 publications primarily in the field of nonlinear optics (e.g., Z-scan, nonlinear Kramers-Kronig, cascaded second-order nonlinearities). He is Emeritus Pegasus Professor at CR
Enrique (Kiko) Galvez earned his PhD in physics at Notre DamKiko head shote in 1986. He has been a member of the faculty at Colgate University since 1988, and is currently the Charles A. Dana Professor of Physics and Astronomy. His research focuses on atomic and optical physics, and physics education, and he has been funded by numerous grants from the NSF and Research Corporation. His recent research projects include experimental atomic physics with Rydberg atoms, geometric phases in optics, and photon entanglement. His educational work includes modernizing the introductory curriculum and developing new teaching laboratories for quantum mechanics.
Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp, which licenses all my photothermal imaging IP, is a sponsor of LOPS. My biosketch is attached here. Thanks! Ji-Xin Cheng is currently the Inaugural Theodore Moustakas Chair Professor in Photonics and Optoelectronics at Boston University. Authored in 320+ peer-reviewed articles with an h-index of 98 (Google Scholar) and holder of >30 patents, Cheng and his team has been constantly at the most forefront of the chemical imaging field in development, discovery, and delivery. Commercial chemical microscopes based on his innovations, including coherent Raman scattering and mid-infrared photothermal microscopes, are installed and used in many countries worldwide. Ji-Xin Cheng, Moustakas Chair Professor of Photonics and Optoelectornics. Professor of ECE, BME, PHYS and CHEM. Chair of Photonics Center Education Committee. Boston University. Office PHO827; Lab PHO801; Email jxcheng@bu.edu; Group website: https://sites.bu.edu/cheng-group/
Hui Cao’s research interests and activities are in the areas of mesoscopic physics, complex photonic materials and devices, nanophotonics, and biophotonics. She has conducted experimental studies on unconventional lasers including random lasers and chaotic microcavity lasers, and found their applications in speckle-free imaging, multi-modality microscopy, and parallel random number generation. Another research focus of hers is coherent control of light transport in diffusive media and multimode fibers, with applications to deep-tissue imaging and endoscopy. Cao has also been creating and controlling complex light fields, and customizing the intensity statistics of laser speckle patterns for structured illumination microscopy. In addition to fundamental studies on complex, chaotic and disordered systems, she has harnessed disorder for photonic device applications, e.g., she invented a compact spectrometer based on a disordered photonic chip.
• Elected Member, the National Academy of Sciences (2021)
• Elected Member, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2021)
• Rolf Landauer Medal of the International ETOPIM Association (2021)
• Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2019)
• Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (2017)
• William E. Lamb Medal for Laser Physics and Quantum Optics (2015)
• John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (2013)
• American Physical Society Division of Laser Science Distinguished Traveling Lecturer (2008)
• Fellow of American Physical Society (2007)
• Fellow of Optical Society of America (2007)
• Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award from American Physical Society (2006)
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2004)
• Outstanding Young Researcher Award from Overseas Chinese Physics Association (2004)
• National Science Foundation Career Award (2001)
• Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (2000)
• David and Lucille Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering (1999)
Konstantin Bliokh received the MSc and PhD degrees in physics from the Kharkov National University (Ukraine) in 1998 and 2001, respectively. After that, he worked as a research scientist at the Institute of Radio Astronomy (Ukraine, 2001–2009). He was a post-doctoral fellow at Bar-Ilan University (Israel, 2003–2005), a visiting research scientist at Technion–Israel Institute of Technology (Israel, 2007), a Linkage International research fellow at the Australian National University (Australia, 2008–2009), a Marie Curie research fellow at the National University of Ireland (Ireland, 2009–2011), an associate professor at the Australian National University (Australia, 2015–2019), and a senior research scientist at RIKEN (Japan, 2011–2024). Starting from 2024, he is an Ikerbasque Professor at the Donostia International Physics Center (Spain). His ongoing research areas include: complex wave systems, geometric phases, spin-orbit interactions, wave momentum and angular momentum, wave vortices, wave-matter interactions, etc. He has co-authored more than 130 scientific papers, reviews, and book chapters.
Dr. Alex Kazemi a world recognized micro technologist, and materials scientist is focusing on development of fiber optics, miniaturized fiber components, fiber optic sensors, and micro/nano technology of laser components for aviation, aerospace and space applications. He is developer of the lightest fiber optic cable in aviation history, World 1st fiber optic sensor for rocket engine, United States first fiber optic delivery system for micro welding of laser chips, and leading-edge technologies. He is Chief Fiber Optic Architect, Associate Technical Fellow, and worked 27 years for Boeing as well as 10 years for telecom, lasers, sensors and MEMS industries. He has authored/edited 8 books and one book chapter in the area of photonics, lasers, sensors, fiber optics, micro and nano technologies, plus published over 48 papers in International Journals and hundreds of presentations throughout of conferences and technical community’s world-wide. He has been Chairman of SPIE International Conferences in Photonics Applications for Fiber Optic Sensors and Lasers for 8 years and for past four years has been Chairman, and Chief Editor of Excel Global International Conference on Lasers, Optics, Photonics. He received International Award for his pioneering work for the development of fiber optic sensors for space applications. In recent survey by “Research Gate” organization close to 2000 of his peers reviewed his published papers. He has bestowed hundreds of recognition, awards and patents.
Dr. Doug Dykaar is the founder of DifTek Lasers, Inc. He received the PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rochester in 1987 in Gerard Mourou's Ultrafast Science group. He was a member of technical staff at AT&T Bell Labs Murray Hill, Research manager at DALSA, and Research Scientist at Thalmic/North. Doug also taught at Conestoga College in their 4-year Bachelor of Engineering Program. At last count, he had over 100 patent applications and 60 publications. His research interests span lasers to superconductivity to materials science to composite electronics.
Peter J. Delfyett received the B.E.(E.E.) degree from The City College of New York in 1981, the M.S. degree in EE from The University of Rochester in 1983, the M. Phil and Ph.D. degrees from The Graduate School & University Center of the City University of New York in 1987 and 1988, respectively. His Ph.D. thesis was focused on developing a real time ultrafast spectroscopic probe to study molecular and phonon dynamics in condensed matter using optical phase conjugation techniques.
After obtaining the Ph.D. degree, he joined Bell Communication Research as a Member of the Technical Staff, where he concentrated his efforts towards generating ultrafast high power optical pulses from semiconductor diode lasers, for applications in applied photonic networks. Some of his technical accomplishments were the development of the world’s fastest, most powerful modelocked semiconductor laser diode, the demonstration of an optically distributed clocking network for high speed digital switches and supercomputer applications, and the first observation of the optical nonlinearity induced by the cooling of highly excited electron-hole pairs in semiconductor optical amplifiers. While at Bellcore, Dr. Delfyett received numerous awards for his technical achievements in these areas, including the Bellcore Synergy Award and the Bellcore Award of Appreciation.
Dr. Delfyett joined the faculty at the College of Optics & Photonics and the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) at the University of Central Florida in 1993, and currently holds the positions of University of Central Florida Trustee Chair Professor of Optics, ECE & Physics.
Dr. Delfyett served as the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics (2001-2006), and served on the Board of Directors of the Optical Society of America. He served as an Associate Editor of IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, was Executive Editor of IEEE LEOS Newsletter (1995-2000) and sits on the Presidential Science Advisory Council of the Orlando Science Center. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, Fellow of IEEE/LEOS, was a member of the Board of Governors of IEEE-LEOS (2000-2002), and is also a member of Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Sigma Xi, and SPIE. Dr. Delfyett has been awarded the 1992 YMCA New Jersey Black Achievement Award, the 1993 National Black Engineer of the Year Award – Most Promising Engineer, the University Distinguished Research Award ’99, and highlighted in Design News’ “Engineering Achievement Awards”. In addition, Dr. Delfyett has been awarded the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Faculty Fellow Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which is awarded to the Nation’s top 20 young scientists. Dr. Delfyett has published over 500 articles in refereed journals and conference proceedings, has been awarded 30 United States Patents, and has been highlighted on ‘C-SPAN’, “mainstreekweek.com” and in “Career Encounters”, a PBS Special on technical careers in the optics and photonics field. Dr. Delfyett was awarded the 1999 University Distinguished Researcher of the Year Award, the 2000 Black Engineer of the Year Award – Outstanding Alumnus Achievement, and the 2000 Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award. He was awarded the University of Central Florida’s 2001 Pegasus Professor Award which is the highest honor awarded by the University. He is also a Founding Member in NSF’s Scientists and Engineers in the School Program, which is a program to teach 8th graders about the benefits of science, engineering and technology in society. In 2003, Dr. Delfyett received the Technology Innovation Award from the Orlando Economic Development Commission. He was selected as one of the “50 Most Important Blacks in Research Science in 2004” and as a “Science Trailblazer in 2005 and 2006” by Career Communications Group and Science Spectrum Magazine. Dr. Delfyett has also endeavored to transfer technology to the private sector, and helped to found “Raydiance, Inc.” which is a spin-off company developing high power, ultrafast laser systems, based on Dr. Delfyett’s research, for applications in medicine, defense, material processing, biotech and other key technological markets. Dr. Delfyett was also elected to serve 2 terms as President of the National Society of Black Physicists (2008-2012). Most recently, he was awarded the APS Edward Bouchet Award for his significant scientific contributions in the area of ultrafast optical device physics and semiconductor diode based ultrafast lasers, and for his exemplary and continuing efforts in the career development of underrepresented minorities in science and engineering.
Awards & Honors
International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) Fellow
American Physical Society (APS) Fellow
IEEE Photonics Society Fellow
Optical Society of America (OSA) Fellow
2019 Excellence in Graduate Teaching College Award
2014 Florida Academy of Science’s 2014 Medalist
2013 National Academy of Inventors Fellow
2013 Letter of Appreciation – SPIE
2013 Faculty Excellence for Mentoring Doctoral Students
2013 College Research Incentive Award (RIA)
2012 Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students
2012 College Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award
2012 Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award
2011 Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award
2011 APS Edward Bouchet Award
2010 American Physical Society Edward Bouchet Award
2010 IEEE Photonic Society Graduate Student Fellowship
2010 SPIE Educational Scholarship in Optical Science and Engineering
2010 Incubic/Milton Chang Travel Award to attend CLEO
2006 Science Spectrum Trailblazer
2005 District Advocate for the American Physical Society
2005 Science Spectrum Outstanding Black Professional in Science
2003 Technology Innovation Award
2003 UCF Millionaire’s Club
2002 Pegasus Professor Award
2002 UCF Distinguished Research Professor Award
2002 UCF Millionaire’s Club
2001 UCF Nguzo Saba Award
2000 Research Incentive Award (RIA)
Research Group
Conducting research on ultrafast high power optical pulses from semiconductor diode lasers, for applications in applied photonic networks and laser induced materials modification.
I lead the Mid-Infrared Photonics Group at the University of Nottingham, UK. My vision is to bring about a new paradigm in mid-infrared (MIR) biophotonics for portable, real-time, sensing and imaging in medicine based on new MIR fibreoptics, including for real-time, in vivo cancer diagnosis. I run a world-class suite of labs. dedicated to the synthesis and characterisation of long-wavelength mid-infrared optical fibres and devices. My seminal 1995 paper cited 591x rekindled interest in MIR chalcogenide-glass photonics. The Royal Academy of Engineering / Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship (2007 / 08) & Medical Research Council, Discipline Hopping Fellowship (2008 / 09) were awarded to initiate my MIR biophotonics’ research. My Optics Express review re-set some ground rules for achieving MIR fibre lasingcited 274x. With DTU, Denmark, we set a world record (held for 6 months) in 2014 in broadband MIR sources demonstrating a MIR-supercontinuum spanning 1.4 mm to 13.3 mm spectral range in fibrecited 745x.This was the first experimental demonstration truly to reveal the potential of MIR fibres to emit across the MIR molecular ”fingerprint spectral region” and a key first step towards bright, portable, broadband MIR sources for biomolecular sensing, including for cancer detection. I am elected Fellow of SPIE for special contribution to glass photonics, Fellow of the Society of Glass Technology, Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. 269 publications, 238 talks at conferences and institutions, including 100 invited.
Dr. Hesketh's research interests are in Sensors and Micro/Nano-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS/NEMS). Many sensors are built by micro/nanofabrication techniques and this provides a host of advantages including lower power consumption, small size and light weight. The issue of manipulation of the sample in addition to introduce it to the chemical sensor array is often achieved with microfluidics technology. Combining photolithographic processes to define three-dimensional structures can accomplish the necessary fluid handling, mixing, and separation through chromatography. For example, demonstration of miniature gas chromatography and liquid chromatography with micromachined separation columns demonstrates how miniaturization of chemical analytical methods reduces the separation time so that it is short enough, to consider the measurement equivalent to "read-time" sensing.
A second focus area is biosensing. Professor Hesketh has worked on a number of biomedical sensors projects, including microdialysis for subcutaneous sampling, glucose sensors, and DNA sensors. Magnetic beads are being investigated as a means to transport and concentrate a target at a biosensor interface in a microfluidic format, in collaboration with scientists at the CDC.
His research interests also include nanosensors, nanowire assembly by dielectrophoresis; impedance based sensors, miniature magnetic actuators; use of stereolithography for sensor packaging. He has published over sixty papers and edited fifteen books on microsensor systems.
Distinctions & Awards
Satish Dhwan Visiting Chair Professor, Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, INIDA, 2019
Thank a Teacher Award for ME4766 Micro/Nano-Scale Devices (2018)
Georgia Institute of Technology Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development Award, 2017
Thank a Teacher Award for ME3345 Introduction to Heat Transfer (2017)
Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development Award, jointly with M. Bakir, S. Graham, S. Sitaraman, M. Swaminathan, M. Tentzeris (2017)
Editorial Board of Journal published by Nature: Microsystems and Nanoengineering (2015)
President of the Georgia Tech Chapter of Sigma Xi (2014-16)
Outstanding Achievement Award of the Sensor Division of the Electrochemical Society (2014)
Sigma Xi, Vice President of Georgia Tech Chapter, 2012-2014
Chair of Honors and Awards Committee, Electrochemical Society, 2011-2013
Georgia Tech Center for Enhanced Teaching and Learning
Tech to Teaching Mentor Award, 2010
Thank a Teacher Certificate, 2008 and 2010
Class of 1969 Teaching Fellow, 2002
American Society of Mechanical Engineers Fellow, 2009
The Electrochemical Society (ECS)
Fellow, 2009
Chairman Sensor Division, 1998-2000
Guest Professor of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 2005-2007
Artech House, Inc. MEMS Series Editor, 2003-2005
American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow, 2004
Whitaker Foundation Biomedical Engineering Research Grant Award, 1994-98
Patents
A. Lotfi, M. Navaei, P. J. Hesketh, “Balanced Thermal Conductivity Gas Sensor Provisional patent Application number 62852615, May 24th 2019
S. Hanasoge, P. J. Hesketh, A. Alexeev, “System and Methods to Produce Metachronal Motion of Artificial Magnetic Cilia” U.S. Patent Application No. 62/748,641 October 22nd 2018
Single Substrate Electromagnetic Actuator, U. S. Patent 7474180, with J. Sutano-Bintro, issued January 6, 2009
Apparatus for Fluid Storage and Delivery at a Substantially Constant-Pressure, U. S. Patent 7,471,337, with R. Luharuka and C.-F. Wu, issued January 27, 2009
Miniature Optically Coupled Electrically Isolated Ultrasensitive Dynamic Pressure Detector, U.S. Patent 7,392,707, with Lid Wong and Sangkyung Kim, July 1, 2008
Porous Gas Sensors and Method of Preparation Thereof, U.S. Patent 7,141,859, with J. Gole, J. DeBoer, and S. Lewis, November 28, 2006
Porous Gas Sensors and Method of Preparation Thereof, U.S. Patent 6,893,892 B2, with J. Gole and S. Lewis, May, 17, 2005
Microfabricated Porous Silicon Gas Sensor, U.S. Patent 6,673,644, with L. T. Seals and J. L. Gole, January 6, 2004
Pin Array Assembly and Method of Manufacture, U.S. Patent 6,455,352, with Joel Pikarsky and Gennadiy Yershov, September 24, 2002
Miniature Electrically Operated Diaphragm Valve, U. S. Patent 6,328,279, with Douglas R. Adkins, Barry L. Spletzer, Chungnin C. Wong, Gregory C. Frye-Mason, and Gary J. Fisher, December 11, 2001
Antibody Covalently Bound Immunobiosensor, U. S. Patent No. 5,567,301, with J. Stetter, S. Gendel, and G. J. Maclay, October 22, 1996
Miniature Pressure Sensor and Pressure Sensor Arrays, U. S Patent No. 5,277,067, with C. E. Holland, January 11, 1994
Miniature Pressure Sensor and Pressure Sensor Arrays, U. S Patent No. 5,163,328, with C. E. Holland, November 17, 1992
Thermopile Having Reduced Thermal Noise, U. S. Patent 5,087,312, with Martin T. Gerber, February 11, 1992
Dr. Lingyan Shi’s pioneering work in developing and applying novel optical techniques has led to a number of significant breakthroughs in biophotonics with major implications for the fields of neuroscience and cancer research and is allowing us to visualize the mechanisms underlying everyday processes and disease. One of Dr. Shi’s most significant discoveries has been the development of a new experimental technique that combines heavy water labeling and a relatively new imaging method, stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, to probe the metabolic activities of living tissues at subcellular resolution in situ. This discovery facilitates the visualization of tumor boundaries, embryonic development, and even aging in biological tissue. Another significant scientific contribution is her discovery of the “Golden Optical Window” – a unique band of infrared wavelengths that can penetrate deeper into biological tissues than other wavelengths of light during imaging, thereby dramatically increasing the imaging depth possible in brain tissue by as much as 50%. In addition, Dr. Shi has developed an early-detection spectral technique that could provide doctors with a tool for the early-stage detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
Boris Gramatikov is an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University, Department of Ophthalmology. He obtained his Dipl.- Ing. degree in Biomedical Engineering in Germany, and his Ph.D. in Bulgaria. He has completed a number of postdoctoral studies in Germany, Italy and the United States. He joined the faculty of the Biomedical Engineering Department of Johns Hopkins in 1996, and has been working in the Laboratory of Ophthalmic Instrumentation Development at The Wilmer Eye Institute since 2000. His areas of expertise include electronics, optoelectronics, computers, computer modeling, signal/image processing, data analysis, instrumentation design, biophotonics, ophthalmic and biomedical optics, and polarization optics, all applied to the development of diagnostic methods and devices for ophthalmology and vision research. His team has developed a series of pediatric vision screeners. He has over 120 publications, 41 of which in high-impact peer- reviewed journals. He serves as a reviewer and editorial board member with a number of technical and medical journals. Boris is the Director for Continuing Education of the Baltimore Section of the IEEE.
Dr. Haishan Zeng is a distinguished scientist with the Integrative Oncology Department (Imaging Unit) of the BC Cancer Research Centre and a professor of Dermatology, Pathology, and Physics at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. For over 30 years, Dr. Zeng’s research has been focused on the optical properties of biological tissues, light-tissue interaction, and nanomaterials enhanced light-tissue interaction as well as their applications in medical diagnosis and therapy. His group has pioneered the multiphoton absorption based laser therapy and is at the leading position in endoscopy imaging and Raman spectroscopy for in vivo early cancer detection, and silver/gold nanoparticles based surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy analysis of body fluids for cancer screening. He has published over 170 refereed journal papers, 17 book chapters, and 1 book (“Diagnostic Endoscopy”, CRC Press Series in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering). Dr. Zeng serves as Editorial Board members for the Journal of Biomedical Optics and the recently launched Translational Biophotonics. He is an Executive Organizing Committee member of the annual SPIE International Symposium on Biomedical Optics. Dr. Zeng’s research has generated 28 granted patents related to optical diagnosis and therapy. Several medical devices derived from these patents including fluorescence endoscopy (ONCO-LIFE™) and rapid Raman spectroscopy (Vita Imaging Aura™) have passed regulatory approvals and are currently in clinical uses around the world. The Aura™ device using Raman spectroscopy for non-invasive skin cancer detection was awarded the Prism Award in the Life Sciences and Biophotonics category in 2013 by SPIE - the International Society for Optics and Photonics.
Andrei Afanasev currently leads the physics effort for the GWU energy initiative. He has made significant research contributions in the field of nuclear and particle physics probed with high-power electron accelerators and free-electron lasers.
Presently Prof. Afanasev contributes to energy research in three areas: (a) High-power particle accelerators that may serve as drivers for accelerator-driven subcritical nuclear reactors (ADSR), as well as probes of new materials for energy applications; (b) Development of novel techniques in photovoltaics, including nanostructures, quantum dots, and surface acoustic waves; (c) New technologies for non-proliferation of nuclear materials.
Prof. Afanasev is the Director of the Photoemission Research Laboratory where new solutions for particle accelerator sources and photovoltaics are being developed and tested.
Research Interests:
Nuclear & Particle Physics, Physics of Particle Accelerators; Quantum Electrodynamics; Condensed Matter Physics
Brock Koren is an executive with over 25 years of experience in high technology companies and has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the California State University of Long Beach. Mr. Koren is currently the Director of Sales/Business Development for DRS Daylight Solutions, the world’s leading provider of best-in-class mid-infrared, quantum cascade laser sources for the life sciences, research, industrial, and defense industries. Mr. Koren was most recently the Vice President of Sales and Marketing/Product Management for Gamma Scientific, a manufacturer of light measurement instruments for display testing, LED testing, light meters, light sources, and spectrometers. He is a native Californian and has spent his entire life in Southern California. He currently resides in San Diego, where he enjoys physical and outdoor activities and restoring vintage Tektronix Oscilloscopes.
Dr. Ivan Divliansky is a Research Assistant Professor in Optics and Photonics at CREOL- The College of Optics and Photonics at UCF with more than 20 years of experience. Dr. Divliansky has 33 peer review publications in journals such as Nature Photonics, Light: Science & Applications, Advanced Materials, Applied Physics Letters, Optics Letters, and others with over 1550 total citations and h-index of 16 (Google Scholar). He has edited one book and authored two book chapters, co-authored two patents, and is an Editorial Board member of the Journal of Lasers, Optics & Photonics. He is also frequent referee for Optics Express, Optics Letters, Applied Optics, and other peer review journals. Currently, his research topics include solid state and fiber lasers systems design, high-power laser beam combining, implementation of volume Bragg gratings in different photonics areas, and others. His research has also led to new applications and further development of various volume holographic elements.
Igor Meglinski is Professor in Quantum Biophotonics and Biomedical Engineering and the Head of the Quantum Biophotonics Research Group at the College of Engineering & Physical Sciences, Aston University (UK). His research focuses on advancing the field of quantum biophotonics, particularly in the application of Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) of light and quantum entagelemnts for tissue characterization and the exploration of intracellular communication. His significant contributions to the field have earned him recognition as one of the top 100 influencers in Life Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, as well as a place among the Top 100 in Photonics in 2024. He is a Chartered Physicist (CPhys), Chartered Engineer (CEng), and a Fellow of several prestigious societies, including the Institute of Physics, the Royal Microscopical Society, SPIE, and OPTICA (formerly the Optical Society of America).
Arjun Yodh received his B.Sc. degree from Cornell, and his Ph.D. degree from Harvard in Atomic Physics under the guidance of Tom Mossberg. He carried out postdoctoral research at
AT&T Bell Laboratories, working with Steven Chu and Harry Tom.
Yodh joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania as an Assistant Professor in 1988. Today, he is the James M. Skinner Professor of Science at Penn. He
has taken on various leadership roles during this time. Notably, he was Director of Penn’s Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) and its NSF-funded Materials
Science and Engineering Research Center (MRSEC) for 11 years from 2009-2020. Currently, he
is the Chair of Penn’s Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Yodh’s research is multi-faceted. He is a pioneer in the field of biomedical optics. He was
recently recognized by the Optical Society in 2021 with the Feld Prize in Biophotonics for his
contributions to the development of the theoretical framework and clinical translation of diffuse
optical spectroscopy and tomography technologies. He and his group were among the first to
predict and experimentally demonstrate wave-like propagation properties of diffuse photon
density waves, and to develop the image reconstruction algorithms needed to generate 3D
tomographic images based on diffuse optical and diffuse correlation measurements. His more
recent work includes demonstrating and clinically translating light diffusion concepts for
noninvasive imaging and monitoring of tissue blood flow, hemodynamics, metabolic responses,
and therapeutics in cancer and brain. Finally, Yodh is a dedicated mentor, advising and having
advised more than 100 Ph.D. students and postdoctoral associates, and playing an influential role
in several educational outreach programs that promote STEM activities at all levels.
Director, Laboratory for Research on Structure of Matter (LRSM) and NSF-MRSEC (2009-2020),
James M. Skinner Professor of Science, University of Pennsylvania (2000-present),
Professor of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania (1997 – present),
Associate Professor of Physics, University of Pennsylvania (1993-97),
Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Pennsylvania (1988-93),
Postdoctoral Research Associate with Harry W. K. Tom, AT&T Bell Labs (1987-88),
Postdoctoral Research Associate with Steven Chu, AT&T Bell Labs (1986-87)
Dr Alexander Doronin is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand). His research interests are interdisciplinary and lie at the interface between Computer Graphics, Biomedical Optics and most recently Artificial Intelligence focusing on modelling of light transport in turbid media, development of novel optical diagnostics modalities, physically-based rendering, optical measurements/instrumentation, acquisition and building of realistic material models, colour perception, translucency, appearance and biomedical visualization. He has extensive recognized experience in the design of forward and inverse algorithms of light scattering in turbid tissue-like media simulations and created a generalized Monte Carlo model of photon migration which has found a widespread application as an open-access computational tool for the needs of light transport communities in Biophotonics, Biomedical Imaging and Graphics.
Ming Yan, Ph.D. has served as our Chief Technology Officer and a member of our board of directors since 2015. Dr. Yan is also a co-founder of our company. Dr. Yan has over 20 years of experience in research and development. Prior to joining our company, Dr. Yan held research and development positions at AT&T Bell Laboratories, a research and development division of AT&T Communications, a telecommunication company, Lawrence Livermore National Labs, a federal research facility, and BD Biosciences, a biotechnology company. Dr. Yan has published several research papers relating to laser spectroscopy and cell analysis in top peer-reviewed journals. He has over a dozen patents and pending patent applications for his innovations. Dr. Yan holds a B.S. in Physics from Fudan University and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the City University of New York.
Dr. Lei Li is an assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University. He obtained his Ph.D. from the Department of Electrical Engineering at California Institute of Technology in 2019. He received his MS at Washington University in St. Louis in 2016. His research focuses on developing next-generation medical imaging technology for understanding the brain better, diagnosing early-stage cancer, and wearable monitoring of human vital signs. He was selected as a TED fellow in 2021 and a rising star in Engineering in Health by Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University (2021). He received the Charles and Ellen Wilts Prize from Caltech in 2020 and was selected as one of the Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review in 2019. He is also a two-time winner of the Seno Medical Best Paper Award granted by SPIE (2017 and 2020, San Francisco).
Sebastian Huelck is the CEO of fast-growing 8-figure technology company, Tec5USA, a subsidiary of the publicly-traded Nynomic AG. With 20+ years’ experience in the sector, Sebastian’s unique approach to decision-making, management, and team-building has led to 7-figure annual growth year over year.
Dr. Bing Yu received his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech in 2005 and postdoctoral training from Duke University between 2005-08. Dr. Yu is currently an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Marquette University and Medical College of Wisconsin. His prior experience includes a Senior Research Scientist and Research Assistant Professor at Duke University and tenure-track Assistant Professor at the University of Akron. His current research focuses on light-tissue interaction, optical imaging and spectroscopy for cancer detection and treatment monitoring, and optical sensors. Dr. Yu is an ASLMS Fellow, senior member of SPIE, and member of Optica (OSA) and BMES.
Development of novel retinal imaging systems and therapeutic techniques and technologies, including photoacoustic imaging, molecular imaging, restorative retinal laser therapy, and surgical techniques. The goal of my research is to allow physicians in real time to determine cellular markers for earlier diagnosis, improved treatment monitoring, and more individualized precision medicine tailored to each patient’s unique molecular markers.
My research seeks to allow physicians to diagnose diseases earlier, improve treatment monitoring, and practice more individualized precision medicine tailored to each patient through molecular imaging. My interest is in applying physics, bioengineering, and mathematical modeling to develop novel retinal imaging systems and laser therapies.
I have co-developed a novel, inexpensive system for providing tele-ultrasound, co-founded a retinal imaging company, and investigate pattern scanning laser photocoagulation (PASCAL), laser-tissue interactions, and restorative retinal laser therapy to create minimally traumatic retinal laser therapy. I am interested in developing more targeted laser therapy through modulation of pulse duration, wavelength, beam characteristics, and physical modulators.
I study photoacoustic and molecular imaging of the retina and choroid for retinal ischemic diseases, including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, vein occlusions, and sickle cell retinopathy. The photoacoustic effect uses light absorption to induce slight local temperature changes, producing ultrasound waves. The imaging device detects these ultrasound waves to create a high-resolution, 3-D image of the retina, choroid, and optic nerve. This allows for non-invasive functional imaging including tissue oxygenation and blood distribution. Through the use of contrast agents targeting neovascularization, I can achieve molecular imaging of the eye for early diagnosis of macular degeneration, prognostication, and determination of response to therapy.
Clinical Interests
Diseases and surgery of the retina and vitreous, including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, retinal vascular disease, retinal detachments, ocular trauma, ocular inflammation, macular and submacular surgery, and surgical management of complex retinal detachment
Subspecialty: Retina
Honors & Awards
2018
Grant, Real-time In Vivo Visualization of the Molecular Processes in Choroidal Neovascularization, NIH/NEI K08
Grant, Precisely Removing Microvessels by Photo-Mediated Ultrasound Therapy, NIH/NEI R01
Grant, Swept Source Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography, University of Michigan Office of Research
2017
Grant reviewer, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, United Kingdom
Credentials
Undergraduate, Chemistry and Physics, Harvard University, 2005
Medical School - Stanford University School of Medicine, 2009
Internship - Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 2010
Residency - Ophthalmology, Stanford University School of Medicine,
2013
Fellowship - Surgical and Medical Retina, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University,
2015
Board Certification - American Board of Ophthalmology
Travis J.A. Craddock, Ph.D. (Physics) is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychology & Neuroscience, Computer Science and Immunology at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is the Director of the Clinical Systems Biology group at NSU’s Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine where he applies computational biophysics methods towards the purpose of identifying novel diagnostics and treatments for illnesses involving neuroinflammation. Dr. Craddock received his Ph.D. in biophysics at the University of Alberta where his graduate research activities focused on biomolecular information processing, and nanoscale descriptions of memory, and cognitive dysfunction in neurodegenerative disorders. His current research activities are focused on using a theory driven approach to understand the underlying molecular regulation of chronic illness resulting from exposure to neurotoxins, such as anesthesia and nerve agents, in order to improve diagnosis and treatment strategies. This work is primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Dr. Binlin Wu is currently an Assistant Professor in the Physics Department at Southern Connecticut State University. Dr. Wu earned his PhD degree from City College of New York. After that, he did two-year postdoc at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Wu’s research is focused on biomedical optical imaging and spectroscopy mainly for cancer imaging and diagnosis. Dr. Wu has expertise in diffuse optical imaging, fluorescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, multiphoton imaging, and machine learning.
Professor Sukhdev Roy received the B.Sc. (Hons.) Physics degree from Delhi Univ. in 1986, M.Sc. Physics from DEI, in 1988, and PhD. from IIT Delhi in 1993. He joined the Dayalbagh Educational Institute in 1993, where he is at present the Head of the Department of Physics and Computer Science. He has been a Visiting Professor at many universities that include, Harvard, Waterloo, Würzburg, Regensburg, Osaka, City University and Queen Mary University of London, TIFR, Mumbai and IISc. Bangalore. He has also been an Associate of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy and is a Member of the Global Panel of MIT Technology Review. Prof. Roy has made significant contributions in Photonics that encompass nano-bio-photonics, silicon and neuro photonics, fiber optics, and optical computing. His experimental and theoretical research on nano-bio-photonic systems that includes low-power and high frequency optogenetic control of neural spiking, defines a new paradigm of technological convergence and innovation and opens up fascinating prospects for energy-efficient, ultrafast and low-cost all-optical information processing, sensing, energy conversion and healthcare. He has won a number of awards and fellowships that include, the, AICTE Career Award for Young Teachers in 2001, JSPS Invitation Fellowship, Japan in 2004, H.C. Shah Research Endowment Prize by Sardar Patel University in 2006, 1st IETE B.B. Sen Memorial Award in 2007, IETE-Conference on Emerging Optoelectronic Technologies Award in 2012, IETE-M. Rathore Memorial Award in 2016, the Systems Society of India’s National Systems Gold Medal in 2016, and the Distinguished Alumni Award by the Dayalbagh Educational Institute in 2021. He also has been awarded seven best paper awards in international and national conferences. He has published 175 research papers in reputed journals and conference proceedings and 11 book chapters. He chaired the 8th World Conference and Expo on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Philadelphia, USA in 2020. He has delivered more than 100 invited talks in India and abroad that include Keynote Addresses and Plenary Talks at International Conferences that include the prestigious International Year of Light commemorative Keynote Address, at the 38th Convocation of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS), in 2015 and at the Annual Meeting of American Physical Society in 2008. He was the Guest Editor of the March 2011 Special Issue of IET Circuits, Devices and Systems Journal (UK) on Optical Computing. He is an Associate Editor of IEEE Access and is a member of the Editorial Board of Optics and Photonics Journal. He is also a Senior Member of IEEE and SPIE, and a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, India, IETE (India), and the Optical Society of India. He is listed in the recent Stanford researchers’ study of Top 2% in World Ranking of Scientists-2020, in Optoelectronics and Photonics.
Dr. Busch’s work focuses on developing non-invasive and minimally invasive optical tools to monitor deep tissues in health and disease, as well as throughout therapy. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania (Physics) in 2011 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Neurology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, prior to joining the faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Busch is currently an assistant professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, Neurology, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Professor Salman Noach received his PHD in physics at 2003 from the Hebrew University Jerusalem ISRAEL. Since, he work at some startups companies and at 2007 he returned back to academy as a faculty member at the physics department at "Jerusalem College of Technology" there he founded the Solid State Lasers Laboratory. The lab is mainly engaged in applied research and development of CW and pulsed solid-state lasers, Nonlinear optics, Raman wavelength shifting and Optical amplifiers in the SWIR and mid IR range. The results of the lab research were the object of many publications in high-ranked journals in the optics and laser community and two patents. He is a senior member at OPTICA and member at SPIE.
Awards: Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. National Science Foundation (NSF). 2022 2019 Young Investigator Award. IEEE Photonics Society . 2019 Collaborative Sciences Award. American Heart Association . 2018 OSA/Quantel Bright Idea Competition (Finalist). Optical Society of America. 2017 Seno Medical Best Paper Award. SPIE conference Photons Plus Ultrasound 2016: Imaging and Sensing. 2016 Seno Medical Best Paper Award. SPIE conference Photons Plus Ultrasound 2015: Imaging and Sensing . 2015 Seno Medical Best Paper Award. SPIE conference Photons Plus Ultrasound 2013: Imaging and Sensing . 2013 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Aboard. The Education Ministry of China. 2012 Best Master Dissertation Award. Tsinghua University. 2008 Comprehensive Student Fellowship. Tsinghua University. 2008 KangShien Outstanding Graduate Fellowship. Tsinghua University. 2006 CyrusTang Fellowship (2002-2006). Tsinghua University. 2002 https://bme.duke.edu/faculty/junjie-yao
Jamal Ali received his B.S. in Physics from Yarmouk University in Jordan and an M.S. in Physics from the City College of New York (CCNY). He got his master’s degree in Science Education from Queens College. He obtained his Ph.D. in Physics from the City University of New York (CUNY) working at the Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers (IUSL) of the City University of New York (CUNY). He worked on “Light Propagation in Paint and Prostate Tissues Media Using Visible to Mid-IR Spectroscopy and Imaging Techniques” for his thesis.
Dr. Xu received his PhD and postdoctoral training in optical and ultrasound imaging in biomedicine. He received a predoctoral award from Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, a postdoctoral fellowship from American Heart Association, a Career Development Award from American Gastroenterology Association, a Senior Research Award from Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and an R37 MERIT award from National Cancer Institute.
Daqing (Daching) Piao, PhD received BS in Physics (Applied Optics) in 1990 from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. He earned MS and PhD, both in Biomedical Engineering, in 2001 and 2003, respectively, from the University of Connecticut (UCONN), Storrs, CT. After a total of two years of post-doctoral training in UCONN and Dartmouth College, he joined the faculty of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Oklahoma State University in 2005. His research interest centers on applying light-tissue interaction principles for identifying and modulating tissue properties. Among the recognitions he has received, a New Investigator Award from the Prostate Cancer Research Program of DoD (Army Medical Research and Material Commaond) recognized his origination of transrectal diffuse optical tomography and the combination of it with transrectal ultrasound for prostate cancer research.
Dr. Pu-Ting Dong is currently an NIH/NIDCR K99 postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Gary Borisy at the ADA Forsyth Institute. Pu-Ting received her PhD in Chemistry at Dr. Ji-Xin Cheng’s lab from Boston University in 2020. So far, she has 14 first or co-first author papers and co-authored 14 more. Pu-Ting is the exclusive recipient (1/300) of the 2018 SPIE Photonics West Translational Research Award, as well as the recipient of 2024 SPIE QPC Lasers Young Investigator Best Paper Award, the Susan Kinder Haake Travel Award (2024 IADR Microbiology/Immunology session), and the Ned Lally Award (2nd place, Mini-Symposium for Young Investigators, 2024 IADR). Pu-Ting was also selected as a 2024 Rising Star in Engineering in Health.
Tongtong Lu is an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Joint Biomedical Engineering Department of Marquette University and Medical College of Wisconsin. He received his bachelor’s degree in information engineering from Zhejiang University in 2016 and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Marquette University in 2022.