Manipulating the Energy and the Momentum of Light at the Subwavelength Scale

This event is sponsored by FAMU-FSU Engineering Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering.

Abstract: The ability to pattern materials at the nanoscale—the scale comparable to the wavelength of light—is spurring the development of sophisticated optical and photonic functionalities. My group focuses on understanding and developing such nanopatterned materials (i.e., metamaterials) that can control light-matter interactions in ways that are impossible with conventional materials. This presentation will highlight some of our efforts in the areas of energy transport and thermal management, adaptive optics and sensing, and mechanical actuation. The evolution of these concepts could lead to ultralightweight and multi-functional structures and coatings with unique new terrestrial and space applications.

Ognjen Ilic

Benjamin Mayhugh Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

University of Minnesota

Speaker Bio: Ognjen Ilic is a Benjamin Mayhugh Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, with courtesy appointments in Electrical Engineering and in Physics. His work explores light-matter and wavematter interactions in nanoscale and metamaterial structures, and he completed his Ph.D. in physics at MIT and was a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech. He received the DARPA Young Faculty Award, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investigator Award, the 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, the Bulletin Prize of the Materials Research Society, and a University of Minnesota McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, the University’s leading award for junior faculty. Ilic serves as Associate Editor for Optics Express.