Applied Optics - UC Santa Cruz

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Alumni

	Dr. Zhigang Liu Zhigang obtained his PhD from the University of Alberta working with Mark Freeman on ultrafast magnetization dynamics. He joined the group in December 2007 for his postdoctoral research working on time-resolved magnetization dynamics of single nanomagnets.
	Dr. Aiqing Chen Aiqing obtained his PhD in Physics in 2009 from the University of Oregon working on nano-optics under the direction of Miriam Deutsch. He joined the Applied Optics group in 2009 working on single biomolecule studies, FRET, and correlation spectroscopy in optofluidic devices.
	Dr. Sergei Kühn Sergei joined the Applied Optics group as a postdoctoral researcher in 2007. He developed novel on-chip optical particle traps and studied fluorescence in optofluidic devices. He joined the Max-Born Institute in Berlin, Germany, in March 2009 where is currently working on molecular switches.
	Dr. Dongliang Yin Dongliang obtained his MS in Optical Engineering from the HUST University in Huazhong and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2006. His research interests included design, simulation and testing of novel photonic waveguide structures with emphasis on biophotonic sensing of single molecules. Dongliang received a UC-GREAT Fellowship for Adaptive Biotechnolgy in 2005. He is now working at Innolume.
	Dr. Naser Qureshi Naser was a postdoc in the group from 2002 to 2004. His interests included time-resolved NSOM measurements, magneto-optic spectroscopy of nanomagnetic structures, and methods to improve the senistivity of magneto-optical measurements. He is now Associate Professor of Physics at UNAM in Mexico City. naserqureshi@yahoo.com
	Dr. Anjan Barman Anjan obtained his PhD from the Jadvapur University and came to UCSC as a postdoctoral researcher in 2005. His interests included magnetization dynamics in single-domain nanomagnets. He is now Assistant Professor of Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology IIT New Delhi.
	Dr. Wenge Yang Wenge obtained his PhD from the University of Arkansas working with Min Xiao on bistability and chaos in three-level systems. He joined the group in June 2005 for his postdoctoral research, and worked on single photon optics in integrated waveguide structures. He is now working at Gemfire.
	Dr. Ashawaraya Shalini Shalini holds a PhD from the University of Exeter, where she worked on time-resolved optical pump probe spectroscopy to study phonons and phase transitions in Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films, and a M.Tech degree from IIT Delhi, India. Prior to PhD, she worked for KLA-Tencor as a Field Application Engineer working with macro-defect detection tools. Her research interests include magneto-optical studies of damping in STT-MRAM devices..
	Dr. Bipul Kumar Mahato Bipul received his PhD from the University of Calcutta, where he worked on shape-dependent static and dynamic magnetic properties of micro- and nanostructures. He joined the group in 2015 for his postdoctoral research, and worked on nanomagnetism, spintronics and magneto-optical damping in STT-MRAM devices.
	Dr. Hong Cai (Cathy) Cathy held a postdoctoral position in Electrical Engineering at UCSC. She received a PhD from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where she worked on silicon-based on-chip optical manipulation. Her research interests are in single molecular detection, optical manipulation and biosensing using integrated optofluidic platforms.
	Dr. Aadhar Jain Aadhar held a postdoctoral position in Electrical Engineering at UCSC. He received his PhD from Cornell University in the department of Mechanical Engineering, where he worked on optofluidic devices for biofuel energy production. His research interests focus on biological applications of the hollow core optofluidic platform.
	Dr. Weigang Yang Weigang held a postdoctoral position in Electrical Engineering at UCSC. He received his PhD from the department of Material Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield, UK. His PhD project was focused on the electric field controlled magnetization in the nanomagnetic thin films. His research interests are in ultrafast magnetization dynamics of nanostructures and spin transfer torque STT-MRAM.
	Dr. Han Zhang Han held a postdoctoral position in Electrical Engineering at UCSC. He received his PhD from UT Arlington, where he worked on on-chip optofluidic droplet lasers. His interests include biophotonic devices for high-throughput nanopore-based molecular analysis and PDMS-based on-chip laser source integration.
	Dr. Suqin Wang Suqin received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2007. She obtained her MS in Optoelectronic Engineering from the Huazhong University of Science & Technology in Huazhong. Her research interests included studies of nanomagnetic structures using scanning probe microscopy and ultrafast spectroscopy. She is now working at Cobalt Biofuels.
	Dr. Bin Wu Bin received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2010. She obtained her B.E. in Optoelectronics from Tianjin University and a M.S. in Optics and Photonics from Imperial College (London). Her research interests included single photon quantum optics in integrated waveguides.
	Dr. Mikhail Rudenko Mikhail was a PhD student in Electrical Engineering. He obtained his B.E. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Bauman Moscow State Technical University in 2005. His research interests included integration of nanopores and liquid-core optical waveguides for single-molecule sensing. Mikhail received a Young Investigator Award at the Photonics West Conference in San Jose in 2007.
	Dr. Philip Measor Philip obtained his PhD in Electrical Engineering from UC Santa Cruz in 2009 with a thesis on spectral properties and design of an optofluidic ARROW waveguide platform. His interests focused on amplification-free virus detection using integrated optofluidic devices. He is now the CEO LiquiLume Diagnostics.
	Dr. Rebekah Brandt Bekah received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2012. She obtained her B.S. in Physics from the University of Chicago before working in industry for a few years. Her research interests included time-resolved magneto-optics and near-field optics.
	Dr. Shuo Liu Shuo received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2014. He obtained a B.E. degree in Optoelectronics through a joint program from Tianjin University and Nankai University. His research interests included studies on integrated optofluidics and its applications.
	Dr. Yu Yahagi Yu received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2015. He obtained a B.E. in Electronics from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 2009. His research interests included optical studies of magnetism on the nanoscale.
	Dr. Kaelyn Leake Kaelyn received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2015. She obtained her B.S. from Sweet Briar College in Engineering Sciences and Physics. Her research interests included development of nanoscale optofluidic devices and their applications.
	Dr. Damla Ozcelik Damla received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2016. She obtained her B.S. in Electronics from Sabanci University in 2010. Her research interests included optofluidics and its applications.
	Dr. Josh Parks Josh received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2016. He obtained a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Portland in 2010. His research interests include optical studies on the nanoscale. He was the recipient of a Cota Robles graduate Fellowship, an NSF Graduate Fellowship, and a graduate fellowship from the UCSC Genomics Institute. Josh's research interests include single biomolecule analysis and hybrid integration in optofluidic devices and biophotonics.
	Dr. Jennifer Black Jennifer received her PhD student in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2018. She received her B.S. in Physics from Southern Polytechnic State University in December 2010. She was the recipient of the Chancellor's Fellowship and an NSF Graduate Fellowship. Her research interests include chip-scale atomic spectroscopy, slow and stopped light and nonlinear optics.
	Dr. Cassidy Berk Cassidy received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2019. He received his B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from Georgetown University. His research interests include all-optical switching of nanoscale magnets.
	Dr. Mike Jaris Mike received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2020. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 2013 with a B.S. in both Physics and Electrical Engineering. His current research interest is the characterization of novel spintronic nanostructures.
	Dr. Alexandra Stambaugh Lexa received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2021. She obtained a B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in 2014. She is the recipient of the Chancellor's Fellowship. Lexa's research interests include optofluidics and its applications.
	Dr. Gopikrishnan Gopalakrishnan Meena Gopi received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2021. He obtained his Integrated Masters in Science (Physics) from University of Hyderabad, India in 2013. His research interests include optofluidic and slow-light devices. Gopi was the recipient of a first-year QB3 Fellowship through the W.M. Keck Center for Nanoscale Optofluidics.
	Dr. Vahid Ganjalizadeh Vahid received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2023. He obtained his Master in Electronics from University of Tabriz, Iran. His research interests include optofluidics and its applications.
	Dr. Tyler Sano Tyler received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2024. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. in Physics in 2018. His current research interests are in optofluidic dye lasers and their applications.
	Anik Duttaroy Anik graduated with a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering in 2016 with research on nanopores integrated with optofluidic devices. He now works in R&D for Ventana Medical Systems in Tuscon, AZ.
	Yucheng Li Yucheng received his Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2019. He obtained his B.S. in Microelectronics from Nankai University in Tianjin, China. His research interests include optofluidics and its applications.
	Md. Mahmudur Rahman Mahmud received his B.Sc. in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET), Bangladesh. His research interests include nanopore-gated optofluidic devices.
	Robert Hoelle Robert managed the Nanofabrication Lab for the W.M. Keck Center for Nanoscale Optofluidics. His background is in physics and electron microscopy. He had extensive industry experience from Intel and FEI.
	Peter Minogue Peter was the administrative assistant and webmaster for the Applied Optics group.
	Benjamin Trendelkamp-Schroer Benjamin was a visting researcher at UCSC, working on simulation and experiments of the dynamics of micro- and nanomagnetics. He is now completing his Physics degree at the University of Dresden, Germany.
	Jessica Ashizawa Jessica graduated from UCSC in Spring 2006 with an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering. Her research interests included intersubband transitions in semiconductor quantum wells and quantum dots. Jessica is now working at Novellus Semiconductors.
	Wesley Zuber Wesley graduated from UCSC in 2007 with a B.S degree in Electrical Engineering. He worked on computer control of various experiments. His interests included electronic circuits and audio technology. Wesley received an NSF REU fellowship and a Dean's award for undergraduate research in 2005.
	Stephane Grenat Stephane attended UCSC through the Education Abroad Program (EAP) in 2004. He set up a pump-probe experiment for time-resolved optical studies with sub-picosecond time resolution. After returning to France, he completed his degree and is now working at National Instruments.
	Will Melitz Will graduated from UCSC in 2007 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. His interests included nanotechnology and computer control of lab experiments. He received an NSF REU fellowship in 2006 and 2007. In 2007, Will received Dean's and Chancellor's Awards and the Huffman Prize for his undergraduate thesis work on near-field studies on nanomagnets. Will is now attending UC San Diego for his graduate studies.
	Alexsandr Polyakov Alex graduated from UCSC in 2007 with a B.S. in Applied Physics. While at UCSC he was interested in the field of magneto-optics. He received an NSF REU fellowship in 2007. Aleksandr is now attending UC Berkeley for his graduate studies.
	Senait Gebredingle Senait built a setup for far-field measurements on optical waveguides. She was a UC LEADS fellow and received Dean's and Chancellor's Awards for undergraduate research for her senior thesis on optical waveguide measurements on ARROW waveguides. After graduating with her B.S. in EE from UCSC in 2004, she is currently attending Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo for her graduate studies.
	Palmer Taylor Palmer was a Physics and Electronic Music student at UC Santa Cruz. He completed his senior thesis on atomic spectroscopy and optical coherence phenomena in rubidium vapor. He received a Dean's Award for his work and graduated in 2005. Palmer is now pursuing a career as independent film maker (see http://www.riversofalostcoast.com/).
	Heather Levin Heather graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from UC Santa Cruz in 2004. She worked on automation of experiments using LabView and magneto-optical spectroscopy. Heather's work was funded by an NSF REU supplemental grant. She also spent a summer at the Nanofabrication Facility at Penn State University as part of an NNUN fellowship. She is now a component design engineer at Intel. heathermarielevin@yahoo.com
	Steve Kuhn Steve graduated with a B.S. in Computer Engineering from UC Santa Cruz in 2004. He built an optical autocorrelator for laser pulse characterization. Steve's work was funded by an NSF REU supplemental grant.

Reed Johnson

Reed was a summer student in the Applied Optics group working on measurements on optical waveguides, optofluidics, and optical microsopy. He is currently pursuing a physics degree at UC Berkeley. He is also interested in public policy making and has served as an intern to California Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Trevor Vogt

Trevor graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 2009. His senior thesis project was the design, construction and testing of an extended cavity diode laser for atomic spectroscopy applications. Trevor won a Dean's Award for Undergraduate Research at UCSC in 2009.

Kevin Louchis

Kevin obtained his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from UCSC in 2009 with a thesis on photoconductive switches for nano-magneto-optics. Kevin received a Dean's Award for Undergraduate Research at UCSC in 2008 and is pursuing graduate studies at UC Davis.

Samantha Downey

Samantha graduated from UCSC in 2010 with a B.S. in Biomolecular Engineering. Her interests included adhesion properties of biomolecules to inorganic surfaces. In 2010, Samantha received a Dean's Award for her undergraduate thesis work on this topic.

	Melissa Eberle Melissa graduated from UCSC in 2010 with a B.S. in Biomolecular Engineering. Her interests included biophotonic methods in optofluidics. In 2010, Melissa received Dean's and Chancellor's Awards for her undergraduate thesis work on improvement of FRET detection on optofluidic chips. Melissa is now attending UC Riverside for her graduate studies in Bioengineering.
	Felipe Neira Felipe graduated from UCSC in 2015 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, where he worked on the ABEL trap system and a nanopore integration project. His research interests include applied optoelectronics and photonics with a focus on nanotechnology implementations.
	Gregory Jorgensen Greg graduated from UCSC in 2015 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He worked on the microfabrication of layered optical devices. His research interests include thin film optics and materials science.
	Soren Almquist Soren graduated from UCSC in 2016 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He worked on a collaborative project with the biology department imaging DNA using the atomic force microscope. His academic interests include nanotechnology, materials science, and renewable energy sources.
	Horace Zhang Horace is an undergraduate in Computer Engineering and joined the Applied Optics group in 2021. His current research interests are in digital hardware and signal analysis.

Tianxiang Xiong

Tianxiang (TX) was a summer student in the Applied Optics group working on biological sample preparation and testing, optical waveguide loss measurements, and building new optical spectroscopy set-ups. He is currently pursuing a dual major in biomedical engineering and mathematics at Duke University.

	Aaron Szasz Aaron was a summer student in the Applied Optics group working on time-resolved magneto-optics and theoretical laser trapping of particles in the Rayleigh scattering regime. He is currently pursuing a joint concentration in Physics and Math at Harvard University.
	Tamara Pico Tamara was a sophomore in chemical engineering at Princeton University. During an REU fellowship in the Applied Optics group, she worked on electron microscopy, electron beam lithography, and surface properties of ARROW waveguide channels.
	Mark Lum Mark was a junior in biomolecular engineering at UCSC. His interests included mircofabrication, nanofabrication, and soft lithography techniques..
	Shamik Mascharak Shamik was a senior at Santa Cruz High School. He joined the Applied Optics group in the summer of 2010. His research interests included the chemical synthesis of nanoparticle-coated microbeads in collaboration with the Mascharak lab and their use for Raman detection in optofluidic devices.
	Jeff Peterson Jeff was a third year bioengineering student at UC Berkeley. His interests included cell and tissue engineering and optofluidic device integration.
	Payton Marshall Payton was a third year bioengineering and premed student at UC Berkeley. His interests included biophotonics and optofluidic device integration.
	Bruno de Fanti