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Associate Professor Vasily Astratov awarded NSF Grant |
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 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 .
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Assistant Professor Ana Jofre wins ORAU Award! |
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Congratulations to Dr. Ana Jofre who has been awarded the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement
Award from Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). The award
recognizes faculty members who are within two years of their initial
tenure-track appointments for their work in the sciences. Dr. Jofre
will use the award to conduct single molecule studies of myosin V
conformations using optically trapped femtoliter droplets. Myosin V is
a motor protein that is responsible for intracellular transport.
Studying conformational changes in myosin V will address one of the
main questions in the field of motor protein structure/function, which
is how these proteins convert chemical energy into mechanical motions.
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Graduate Student Mingzhen Tang Wins Spectra-Physics Research Excellence Travel Award |
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Spectra-Physics Research Excellence Travel Awards were presented this year at the SPIE conference in Newport. SPIE Student Services hosted the Student Lunch with the Experts, to give students a chance to network and gain advice from industry and academic leaders. The Newport and Spectra-Physics Research Excellence Travel Awards presentations were made during the lunch. Randy Heyler, senior director of Strategic Marketing for Newport, (second from right, in front of podium) presented $15,000 in travel awards to student researchers at a luncheon at SPIE Photonics West
Students who attended to accept the awards were as follows: Taeyoung Choi, University of Arizona; Eric Diebold, Harvard University; Juejun Hu, MIT; Toufic Jabbour, University of Central Florida; Chih-wen “Wendy” Kan, University of Texas at Austin; Matthew Lew, Calif.l Institute of Tech; Yutin Lin, UCalif, Irvine; Suprahja Murali, Univ. of Central Florida; Jaesook Park, University of Texas at Austin; Leo Siiman, U. Central Florida; Mingzhen Tang, U NC at Charlotte; Nitin Uppal, U Texas, Arlington; Hongying Zhu, U Missouri, Columbia; Narasimhan Rajaram, U Texas, Austin. Also winning an award, but not pictured: Tina Shih, Harvard Univ.
SPIE President Kevin Harding and representatives from Newport are also in the photo with the award winners.
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Undergraduates Sarah Gray and Mark Green Win 2007 Scholarships |
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Congratulations to our 2007 Professor Silverio Almeida Scholarship recipient, Sarah Gray!
 Sarah Gray is a senior, double majoring in mathematics and physics. Physics has
always been interesting to her, but it wasn't required in her high school
and wasn't even offered every semester. She did take her first physics
course during her senior year in high school and that is when she decided to
minor in it. Sarah thanks Dr. Leilabady and Nic Scott, because during her sophomore
year in college here at UNCC, they convinced her to become a
double major. Sarah is from Lincolnton, NC and tied for the youngest of 4 with her
identical twin sister. She likes to be involved at school and in her home
life. She loves animals and kids. She tells us, "The reason I love physics so much is
because it brings answers, it helps me understand everything in the
world and universe around me."
Congratulations to our 2007 Professor Victor Pollak Scholarship recipient, Mark Green!
Mark Green is a physics major, hailing originally from a town
located near Erie, Pennsylvania. He was originally planning to study
engineering; however, he soon realized that physics would be a far
better choice for him. He tells us, "I have always enjoyed the concept of
understanding how the world works, so studying physics, which not only
describes how the world works through math but also gives a theoretical
framework to describe why it works the way it does, became my logical
direction in college." Mark enjoys working for Tutorial
Services. In his free time he generally likes to read a variety of books
or to spend time with my friends, whether playing pick-up games of
basketball or just talking over lunch.
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