Associate Professor Vasily Astratov awarded NSF Grant

Congratulations to Dr. Vasily Astratov, who is a new recepient of a 3-year National Science Foundation ECCS award: Mesoscale Structures and Photonic Devices based on Coupled Spherical Cavities, $296,647.00, as of Aug 2008 to July 2011. This project is devoted to “mesophotonics” – novel area of photonics dealing with the optical properties of mesoscopic systems of coupled cavities with dimensions in the order of several wavelengths. The focus of this project is on developing new concepts related to light transport in such systems including photonic nanojet-induced modes, percolation of whispering gallery modes and the role of structural disorder and dimensionality. At the device level, the project will develop designs where coupled cavities are applied to tight focusing micro-probes, sensors, and compact spectrometers.  More information on Dr. Astratov and his research can be found on his Research Website .