Thursday, October 20, 2011 - 1:00 PM EST
Two perspectives on the Future of Optics

DR. ADAM WAX, Theodore Kennedy Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University’s Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics and Director of Master’s Studies.

HOT TOPICS IN BIOMEDICAL OPTICS
Dr. Wax's research interests include optical spectroscopy for early cancer detection, novel microscopy and interferometry techniques. In his presentation, Dr. Wax will provide insight into topics gaining momentum in the field of biomedical optics.

Dr. Wax won the Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research, Duke University, Pratt School of Engineering; and the Chandran Research Award, Duke University. He has received a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellowship, a National Science Foundation Early CAREER Award, and a W. H. Coulter Foundation Early Career Award, among other distinctions. 

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VLADIMIR M. SHALAEV, Scientific Director for Nanophotonics, Birck Nanotechnology Center, and Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University

TRANSFORMING LIGHT WITH METAMATERIALS
Professor Shalaev specializes in nanophotonics, plasmonics and optical metamaterials. He will discuss recent progress in developing optical metamaterials, which allow for unprecedented control over the flow of light at both the nano- and macroscopic scales, as well as recent progress in developing tunable and active metamaterials, nanolasers, and loss-free negative-index metamaterials, among others. 

Shalaev received several awards for his research in the field of nanophotonics and metamaterials, including OSA’s Max Born Award for his pioneering contributions to optical metamaterials and the Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics.