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
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 is a University Trustee Chair, Pegasus and Distinguished Professor at the University of Central Florida, where he directs the Institute for the Frontier of Attosecond Science and Technology. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and Optical Society of America. Chang graduated from Xi’an Jiaotong University in China with a bachelor’s degree in 1982. He then earned a master’s and a doctorate at the Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 1985 and 1988 respectively. From 1991 to 1993, Chang visited the Central Laser Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory sponsored by the Royal Society fellowship. He worked at the University of Michigan after 1996. Then joined the Kansas State University in 2001 and later became the Ernest & Lillian Chapin Professor. In 2010, Chang started the joined faculty position in CREOL and physics department at the University of Central Florida.
Research Interests: Attosecond Science, Ultrafast high power laser, AMO physics
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/
Dr. Jose Pozo is Director of Technology and Innovation at EPIC (European Photonics Industry Consortium). As EPIC’s CTO, he represents 350 companies active in the field of Photonics. His job consists on actively engaging with them and provide them with tools to strengthen their position in the supply chain; such tools are the organization of 20 technology workshops per year, provision of market intelligence and finding B2B leads. He has the vision that the future of optoelectronic manufacturing can take place in Europe to a large extent, and as part of that vision he is actively involved in the EU-funded pilot lines. He has 20 years’ background in photonics technology, market knowledge, and a large network within the industrial and academic photonics landscape. Dr. Pozo holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Bristol, U.K., and a M.Sc. and B.Eng. in telecom engineering from UPNA (Spain) / VUB (Belgium). In addition, Dr. Jose Pozo has worked as post-doctoral researcher at the Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands), EU proposal coordinator at TNO (The Netherlands), and Sr. Photonics Technology Consultant at PNO Consultants.
Dr. Alex Kazemi a world recognized Micro Technologist, and materials scientist is the CEO and President of ARK International LLC 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, U.S. 1st fiber optic delivery system for micro welding of laser chips, and leading-edge technologies. He is The Boeing Company Fiber Optic Architect, Associate Technical Fellow, and worked for 25 years for Boeing as well as 10 years for telecom, lasers, sensors and MEMS industries. He also taught physics and materials science for several years at University of Southern California. Currently he is the Principal Consultant for development of new generation of fiber optics and sensors to the Boeing Company. 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 over48 papers in International Journals and hundreds of presentations throughout of conferences and technical community’s world-wide. In recent survey by “Research Gate” organization over 1000of his peers reviewed his published papers. In 2018, 2019 and 2021 three separate International Awards were presented to him for the phenomenal presentation for his research on fiber optic sensor and lasers. He has been Chairman of SPIE International Conferences in Photonics Applications for Fiber Optic Sensors and Lasers for 8 years and Chairman, Chief Scientific Committee and Chief Editor of Excel Global International Conference on Lasers, Optics, Photonics, and Sensors in 2021. He has bestowed hundreds of recognitions, 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.
Nicolas Javahiraly is an associate professor in physics at the University of Strasbourg. He did his PhD in Photonics at the same university on fiber optic sensors. After a post-doc at Harvard University on the interaction between ultra-short laser pulses and matter, he worked as a project manager and expert in the Sagem Defense group in Paris. He joined the University of Strasbourg in 2007 and is currently working on nano-optical sensors and plasmonics for various applications such as gas detection, pollutants detection and photo conversion systems for example.
Dr. Zhongping Chen is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the OCT Laboratory at the University of California, Irvine. He is a Co-founder and Chairman of OCT Medical Imaging Inc. Dr. Chen received his B.S. degree in Applied Physics from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1982, his M. S. degree in Electrical Engineering in 1987, and his Ph.D. degree in Applied Physics from Cornell University in 1993. Dr. Chen and his research group have pioneered the development of Doppler optical coherence tomography, which simultaneously provides high resolution 3-D images of tissue structure and vascular flow dynamics. These functional extensions of OCT offer contrast enhancements and provide mapping of many clinically important parameters. In addition, his group has developed a number of endoscopic and intravascular rotational and linear miniature probes for OCT and MPM imaging and translated this technology to clinical applications. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers and review articles and holds a number of patents in the fields of biomaterials, biosensors, and biomedical imaging. Dr. Chen is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a Fellow of SPIE, and a Fellow of 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)
Ali Adibi is the director for the Center for Advanced Processing-tools for Electromagnetic/acoustics Xtals (APEX) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his B.S.E.E. from Shiraz University (Iran) in 1990, and received his M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology (1994) and the California Institute of Technology (2000), respectively. His Ph.D. research resulted in a breakthrough in persistent holographic storage in photorefractive crystals. Dr. Adibi worked as a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology from 1999 to 2000. In 2000, he joined the faculty of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he is now an associate professor. Dr. Adibi has a wide range of research interests in both theoretical and experimental aspects of photonic devices and materials. His research has resulted in more than 50 journal and more than 100 conference publications, as well as several invention disclosures and patents. Dr. Adibi has received several prestigious awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from the White House, CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), and Packard Fellowship from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Dr. Adibi has been the conference chair for several conferences, including the "Photonic Crystal Materials and Devices" conference in the Photonics West Meeting. He has served as a technical committee member for several conferences organized by IEEE, Optical Society of America (OSA), and The International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE). He is a senior member of IEEE and a member of Sigma Xi, OSA, SPIE, and ASM. He is also the chair of the IEEE LEOS Atlanta Chapter.
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).
I joined the department of Electrical and Computer engineering of the University of Toronto with a mixed experience in academic as well as industrial environments. I received both my M.Sc. (9/1995) and Ph.D. (11/1998) degrees from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, in the field of photonics. I was a European Union-sponsored research fellow on project to study difference frequency generation in III-V heterostructures using Quantum well intermixing in 1999. Between 2000 and 2004 I joined Agilent Technologies, where I was involved in developing different Photonic devices ranging form high reliability high power submarine-class 980 nm lasers, to DFBs for un-cooled high temperature operation, to integrated laser/modulator/amplifier devices. My Research Interests include; Photonic device physics and characterization techniques, non-linear optics in III-V semiconductors, applied optical spectroscopy for III-V optoelectronic devices and materials, III-V fabrication and monolithic integration techniques.
Professor Chen’s research group performs interdisciplinary research in optics science and photonic engineering. We develop innovative laser technology for advanced manufacturing and clean energy production; distributed optical sensors for energy and robotics applications; photonic integrated circuits for compact optical system developments; distributed sensor enabled artificial intelligence data analytics and digital twins; and sensor fused additive manufacturing. Our research group is superiorly equipped with both world-class research equipment and highly capable innovators. This powerful combination enables us to produce high-impact scientific knowledge, highly valuable intellectual properties, mission-critical product prototypes, and important technology know-how for our national lab and industry partners. Unlike a "conventional" optics group, our research team includes highly trained researchers with diverse technical backgrounds in laser, fiber optics, material sciences, renewable energy, electronics and FPGA, mechatronics, radar and imaging processing, and machine learning. This diversity keeps us open-minded and drives interdisciplinary innovations. As a collaboration friendly and inclusive research team, Professor Chen works with 14 highly motivated researchers including 5 female PhD and PDF researchers. Our group is well-known in industry for strong capabilities in reel-to-reel fabrication of distributed fiber sensors and in the development turn-key fiber sensor interrogation instruments for advanced energy systems..
Prof. Abrahamse BSc (RAU), BSc Honours (Biochemistry; US and Psychology; UNISA), MSc (Medical Biochemistry; US), PhD (Molecularbiology/Biochemistry; Wits University), Executive Leadership (Gibs, UP), Global Clinical Scholar Research Program (Harvard Medical School) is currently the Director of the Laser Research Centre, UJ and DST/NRF SARChI Chair for Laser Applications in Health (2016-2025). She is appointed as Adjunct Professor to the Manipal College of Health Professions, India. Her research interests include photobiology and photochemistry with specific reference to Photodynamic cancer therapy and Photobiomodulation. She was the recipient of the Faculty of Health Sciences highest research output for 2009 and the University of Johannesburg Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Award for Outstanding Researcher of the Year, 2010 and again in 2020 and the NLC Rental pool grant-holder bestresearch output for 2008, most masters graduates 2013 and most IP produced 2013 and most doctorategraduates, 2014. She was runner up to the DST WISA Distinguished Scientist award in 2015 and placed second in the SAWiSA awards, 2023. She was granted a DST/NRF SARChI chair in 2016 which was renewed for another 5 years in 2020.In 2019 she received the International Photodynamic Association Humanitarian award recognize those who have made selfless efforts and personal sacrifices to enhance and promote the science of Photodynamic therapy and in 2022 she received the International Photodynamic Association for Basic PDT Research Excellence Award. She was also awarded the South African Higher Education Resources Services Lifetime Achiever award in 2023. According to Expertscape: The expertise of Heidi Abrahamse ranks in the Top 0.0044% of 44 977 published authors worldwide on Photosensitizing Agents from 2012 through 2023 based on contributions to 44 articles on the topic. https://expertscape.com/au/photosensitizing+agents/Abrahamse%2C+H She has supervised 63 masters, 38 doctorates and 26 post-doctorate fellows. She has acted as external examiner for masters and doctorate theses from several national and international universities and has an impressive record for external grant applications. Her international standing as a researcher of distinction is supported by the fact that she has hosted 6 international conferences including the World Association for Laser Therapy, Photodynamic therapy conference supported by the DST SA/Germany year of science, a Phototherapy workshop, Biophotonics in Cancer symposium and Photobiomodulation:Trends in Disease Management in 2022. She has co-chaired 6 BRICS meetings in 2020, 2021 Brazil and2021, 2023 Russia and the International Commission for Optics, Optics & Photonics AFRICA 2023. She was the president of the international society, WALT for 2010 to 2012. She has been invited to present her research at several international conferences as invited, keynote or plenary presenter. Her society membership include: SASBMB; ASBMB; ASCB; ISO; WALT; OSA; WALA; EMLA; NAALT; and ISLA. She has acted as external and panel reviewer for external national and international funding bodiesand grants and played an instrumental role in negotiating memorandums of understanding with several international institutions. Her publication record is impressive with 298 peer reviewed accredited journal publications, 64 accredited full paper proceedings, 52 chapters and 2 books. She is currently a NRF B2 rated scientist with a Scopus H-index of 48, Google scholar H-index of 57 and a ResearchGate H-index of 51. She serves on international councils, executive committees and board of directors including the World Academy of Laser Applications, European Medical Laser Association and the African Laser Centreand serves on the editorial boards of 8 peer-reviewed internationally accredited journals while acting as reviewer for over 50 journals. She was appointed Co-Editor in Chief of the international accredited journal Photobiomodulation, Photomedicine and Laser Surgery and Associate Editor of Journal of photochemistry and photobiology A: Chemistry. Her academic career span more than 33 years and provide her with substantial experience in tertiary education, lecturing and research. She has lectured 6 different subjects from first year to fourth year level. She serves on several research-related university committees for both universities and science councils and World Health Organization International EMF Project – South Africa National Committee. She currently serves her second term on the University of Johannesburg Council as elected Senate representative and was appointed by the Minister of Health to serve on the National Health Research Committee of South Africa for 2020-2023. She is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa
Wojtek Walecki received his Ph.D. in Physics and his Master's in Engineering from Brown University in 1994 and 1992 respectively, and a Masters in Physics from Warsaw University in 1988. He did his postdoctoral research at Cornell University. His academic interests were focused on ultrafast spectroscopy of semiconductors and semiconducting devices from UV to THz spectral range. Later Wojtek worked as Semiconductor Diagnostics Program Manager, Product Manager, Worldwide Product Manager, and Division Manager in several companies including ThermoOriel, Lambda Physik, Frontier Semiconductor, and until the fall of 2016, Sunrise Optical LLC. In August 2016, Wojtek returned to Frontier Semiconductor, this time as Chief Technology Officer. Later he left Frontier Semiconductors and created Optoprofiler LLC He is the author of about 80 publications, and 25 granted US Patents.
Ping Lu is currently a senior R&D scientist at OFS Fitel LLC, where he develops specialty fibers and fiber sensors for industrial, aerospace, and medical applications. He obtained his Ph.D. in condensed matter physics from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2012, where he researched the micro-structured optical fibers. Before joining OFS, he worked at the National Energy Technology Laboratory to establish one of the only optical fiber sensor interrogator programs among DOE national labs. His current research interests focus on developing advanced fiber-optic sensing systems for low-cost distributed multi-parameter environmental monitoring. He has authored or co-authored over 100 research papers in the field of fiber optics and laser physics.
Yang Yue received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering and optics from Nankai University, China, in 2004 and 2007, respectively. He received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California, USA, in 2012. He is a Professor with the School of Information and Communications Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China. Dr. Yue’s current research interest is intelligent photonics, including optical communications, optical perception, and optical chip. He has published over 260 journal papers (including Science) and conference proceedings with >10,000 citations, six edited books, two book chapters, >60 issued or pending patents, >200 invited presentations (including 1 tutorial, >30 plenary and >50 keynote talks). Dr. Yue is a Fellow of SPIE, a Senior Member of IEEE and Optica. He is an Associate Editor for IEEE Access and Frontiers in Physics, Editor Board Member for four other scientific journals, Guest Editor for >10 journal special issues. He also served as Chair or Committee Member for >100 international conferences, Reviewer for >70 prestigious journals.
Dr. Mustafa Kansiz is currently the Director of Product Management and Marketing for the mIRage IR Microscope at Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp with responsibilities for new product development, marketing and applications development. He has over 25 years of experience working with FTIR Microscopy and Imaging and Raman, spanning routine to research applications, in both industry and academia. Throughout his time, he has worked at Varian and Agilent Technologies serving in a range of technical and business development roles, including FTIR Microscopy & Imaging Product Manager, Product Specialist, R&D Scientist and European FTIR Sales Manager. He has a Ph.D. from Monash University on biotechnological application of FTIR spectroscopy and multivariate statistics.
Dr. Wang’s research group, Optical Imaging Laboratory at the U-M School of Medicine, is focused on imaging system development, and adaptation of novel diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to laboratory research and clinical settings, especially those involving light and ultrasound. Major part of our research is focused on clinical applications of photoacoustic imaging, including those involving breast cancer, inflammatory arthritis, prostate cancer, liver conditions, bowel disease, eye conditions, and brain disorders. We are also interested in design and fabrication of multi-functional nanoparticle agents (e.g. metallic, hydrogel) for both diagnosis and therapy, as well as interactions between nanoparticles and cells.
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
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.
Dr. Jessica C. Ramella-Roman received an Electrical Engineering degree (Laurea) from the University of Pavia, Italy in 1993 and worked for five years in the semiconductor industry. She returned to academia in 1999 to pursue a Ph.D. degree in bio-optics with Dr. Steve Jacques and she received a Master’s and Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Oregon Health Science University in Portland, Oregon in 2004. She was a Post Doctoral Fellow at the Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University from 2004 to 2005. She was then an Associate Professor at The Catholic University of America from 2005 to 2010 and an Associate Professor from 2010 to 2013. She is a Senior Research Scientist at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington DC, and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. Since 2013, she has served an Associate Professor at Florida International University, in the Biomedical Engineering Department and an Associate Professor on the Research Scientist Track in the Department of Cellular Biology and in the Department of Ophthalmology.
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.
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. Mustafa Kansiz is currently the Director of Product Management and Marketing for the mIRage IR Microscope at Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp with responsibilities for new product development, marketing and applications development. He has over 25 years of experience working with FTIR Microscopy and Imaging and Raman, spanning routine to research applications, in both industry and academia. Throughout his time, he has worked at Varian and Agilent Technologies serving in a range of technical and business development roles, including FTIR Microscopy & Imaging Product Manager, Product Specialist, R&D Scientist and European FTIR Sales Manager. He has a Ph.D. from Monash University on biotechnological application of FTIR spectroscopy and multivariate statistics.