College of Science & Engineering
Twin Cities
This research focuses on understanding the fundamental physics that governs the way light interacts with matter at the nano scale. At such small scales, structures and materials can exhibit complex optical and mechanical responses and recent developments have enabled us to control this complexity. For one, the advances in nanofabrication and material synthesis - including single and few-atomic-layer materials - have allowed unprecedented access to the geometrical degrees of freedom down to the nanometer level. Similarly, the rapid increase in computational capabilities is enabling efficient exploration of the vast parameter space of structural and material form-factors. This work is at the intersection of these advances, aimed at exploring and harnessing light-matter interactions for useful applications in energy, sensing, and manipulation.