Distinguished Lectures with Gaeta and Lipson

Dept. of Electrical Engineering & Dept. Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics Distinguished Lectures

Monday, September 30, 2013
2:00-3:00 PM (refreshments served at 1:30 PM)
Davis Auditorium, CEPSR

Alexander Gaeta
Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University
Samuel B. Eckert Professor of Engineering, Director

"Temporal magnification, compression, and cloaking of light"

Abstract:
Recent research has shown that the properties of a light beam can be manipulated  to perform ultrafast all-optical signal processing in the time domain.  I will describe our recent work that uses nonlinear optics to create temporal lenses that can magnify, compress, and Fourier transform optical waveforms in the time domain.  Through use of more exotic lenses, temporal gaps in light beams can be opened and closed which can be used to cloak events over short periods of time.

Biography:
After receiving his doctoral degree in optics, Gaeta remained at the University of Rochester for two years as a postdoctoral research associate. He joined the Cornell faculty in 1992. He received Young Investigator Awards from the Office of Naval Research in 1993, and from the Army Research Office in 1995. He was a recipient of the College of Engineering Teaching Award in 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2007. He is a fellow of the Optical Society of America and of the American Physical Society. Gaeta has served as director of the Center for Nanoscale Systems from 2007-2012.

Thursday, October 3, 2013
11:00 AM-12:00 Noon
Davis Auditorium, CEPSR

Michal Lipson
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University

"Silicon Photonics: The Optical Spice Rack"

Abstract:
Silicon is evolving as a versatile photonic platform with multiple functionalities that can be seamlessly integrated. The tool box is rich starting from the ability to guide and amplify multiple wavelength sources at GHz bandwidths, to optomechanical MEMS and opto-fluidics devices. As an example of novel device capabilities, I will discuss the generation of strong optical forces in these ultra small light confining structures. We have recently shown that optical forces can enable controllable, static manipulation of photonic structures, an important step towards enabling recently proposed functionalities for optomechanical devices, such as self-aligning and optical corralling behaviour. These advances should enable future micro-optomechanical systems (MOMS) with novel and distinct functionalities.

Biography:
Prof Michal Lipson received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in physics in the Technion— Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, in 1998. In December 1998, she joined the Department of Material Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a Postdoctoral Associate. In 2001, she joined the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, where she is currently the Given Foundation Professor of Engineering. Her research at Cornell involves novel on-chip nanophotonic devices. She is the inventor of over 15 patents regarding novel micron-size photonic structures for light manipulation. She is the author or coauthor of more than 200 papers in the major research journals in physics and optics. Dr. Lipson is a McArthur Fellow, a Fellow of IEEE and a Fellow of the Optical Society of America. She is the recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, IBM Faculty Award and Blavatnik award, NY state academy of science .

Hosts: Prof. I.C. Noyan (APAM) & Prof. Keren Bergman (EE)