Colloquium Series

Roarke Horstmeyer
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Duke University

We have developed a new type of computational microscope that uses a compact array of "micro-cameras" to jointly record high-resolution video across large areas. We refer to these novel systems as “multi-camera array microscopes” (MCAMs), which contain up to 96 individual synchronized image sensors and associated lenses to produce gigapixel-scale snapshot measurements.

Alba Alfonso Garcia
Assistant Project Scientist
University of California, Davis

This study evaluated the sensitivity of label-free fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIm) as a novel method for detecting low-grade GI inflammation. FLIm captures changes in the tissue microenvironment altered under inflammatory conditions...These findings hint at the quantifiable detection of inflammatory changes in mucosal tissue using FLIm, providing a foundation for further investigations into its sensitivity to colon epithelial metabolism and its potential for monitoring inflammation in live tissue.

Michael Gehm
Professor of ECE and physics
Duke University

In this talk I will discuss our investigation of the general feasibility of this phenomenon as well as our explorations into several promising engineered scenarios that seek to exploit this opportunity. In addition to our ongoing work, I will introduce a variety of interesting open questions that have emerged during our efforts.

Vahid Sandoghdar
Managing Director
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light

In this presentation, I will report on recent studies, where we reach unity efficiency in the coupling of single photons to single molecules in a microcavity and describe our efforts to exploit this for the realization of polaritonic states involving a controlled number of molecules and photons. Furthermore, I will show how the underlying mechanisms that play a central role in quantum optics, help detect, image and track single biological nanoparticles such as viruses and small proteins with high spatial and temporal resolutions and in a label-free fashion.

Xiaoqin Elaine Li
Professor of Physics
University of Texas, Austin

I will discuss how different types of excited states, i.e. excitons and trions can be engineered in semiconductor moiré superlattices.  I will discuss two recent developments. One is the discovery of a charge-transfer trion resonance in twisted homobilayers. Another is to confine excitons in a semiconductor functional layer with twisted-hBN substrates. 

Cristina Canavesi
Co-Founder and President
LighTopTech Corp.

Convolutional neural networks were applied to automatically segment the endothelial cells in human cornea for quantitative, unbiased assessment of corneal health. A novel algorithm for optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), an attractive diagnostic tool for non-invasive, label-free vascular imaging in vivo, was demonstrated in conjunction with OCX to extract high-resolution cutaneous vasculature, significantly improving the visualization and characterization of micro-capillaries in vivo.

Katie Bouman
Assistant Professor
California Institute of Technology

We will discuss approaches we have developed to incorporate data-driven score-based priors into the imaging process to understand the sensitivity of the black hole image to different underlying assumptions. Additionally, we will discuss how we are developing techniques that will allow us to extract the evolving structure of our own Milky Way's black hole over the course of a night. In particular, we introduce Orbital Black Hole Tomography, which integrates known physics with a neural representation to map evolving flaring emission around the black hole in 3D for the first time.

Aydogan Ozcan
Chancellor’s Professor and the Volgenau Chair for Engineering Innovation
University of California Los Angeles

In this presentation, I will provide an overview of our recent work on using deep neural networks in advancing computational microscopy and sensing systems, also covering their biomedical applications, including virtual staining of label-free tissue for pathology. I will also discuss diffractive optical networks designed by deep learning to all-optically implement various complex functions as the input light diffracts through spatially-engineered surfaces.

Zeinab Hajjarian
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
University of Massachusetts

Our results demonstrate the links between micromechanical heterogeneities and clinical prognostic markers, including histopathological subtype, tumor grade, receptor expression, and lymph node status in breast carcinoma. These results outline the tremendous potential of SHEAR for both technical maturation and prospective applications in cancer biomechanics and mechanobiology research.

Olga Kalashnikova
Research Scientist in the Aerosol and Cloud Group
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

We will discuss remote sensing observations of fire energetics and smoke properties from NASA satellite and the ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft, and links between in-situ smoke characterization and large-scale satellite observations. In addition, we will introduce the newly established NASA Fire Sense program that is focused on delivering unique Earth science and technological capabilities to operational agencies, striving towards measurable improvement in US wildland fire management.

Jinyang Liang
Associate Professor
Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Université du Québec

Visualizing transient events in the durations of their occurrences (i.e., real time) is indispensable to understanding many physical, chemical, and biological processes. Among existing methods, real-time ultrafast imaging based on coded optical streaking has received increasing attention because of its high image quality, high adaptability, and broad applicability. In this talk, I will review the working principles and limitations in representative ultrafast imaging modalities. Then, I will focus the discussion on three research directions in my Laboratory of Applied Computational Imaging in the past three years.

Andreas Velten
Associate Professor
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Over the past decade NLOS imaging has seen rapid progress and we can now capture and reconstruct hidden scenes in real time and with high image quality. In this presentation I will give an overview over the imaging using single photon avalanche diodes, reconstruction methods, and applications driving NLOS imaging and provide an outlook for future development.

Daniele Faccio
Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies
School of Physics & Astronomy, Director of Research
Advanced Research Centre (ARC), University of Glasgow

I will give an overview of some of these questions and ideas, specifically those that involve rotation in one form or another - starting from Penrose superradiance and the Zel’dovich proposal for measuring amplification from a rotating absorber to our recent proposals for generating entanglement from rotational motion.

Douglas Lanman
Senior Director of Display Systems Research
Reality Labs Research, Meta

How can a display appear indistinguishable from reality? We describe how to pass this “visual Turing test” using AR/VR headsets, emphasizing the perceptually driven joint design of optics, display components, rendering algorithms, and sensing elements.

Mohan Sarovar
Distinguished Member of Technical Staff
Sandia National Labs

The Quantum Algorithms and Applications Collaboratory (QuAAC) is a group of scientists at Sandia National Laboratories working to answer the questions, "what might quantum computers be used for?" and "what kinds of verifiable advantages might they offer over conventional classical computers?". In this talk, I’ll briefly introduce QuAAC and go over some of the research directions we are currently pursuing.

Yeran Bai
Postdoctoral Fellow
Neuroscience Research Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara

I will present the recent advancements we have achieved in MIP technology, including improvements in spectral coverage, imaging speed, and integration with other imaging modalities. Additionally, I will discuss how the MIP platform has played a pivotal role in addressing a diverse array of biomedical questions, ranging from microbiology to stem cell and neurodegeneration.

Sara Mouradian
Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Washington, Seattle

In this talk we will discuss two such error sources and ways to reduce them: (1) collisions with background gas molecules and (2) optical crosstalk between control beams.

Liuyan Zhao
Associate professor of physics at the University of Michigan

We propose to use nonlinear optics to couple with such multipolar orders, where we can use multiple copies of electromagnetic fields to construct the required coupling fields. We will demonstrate the success of this concept.

Nick Takaki
Senior research and development engineer in the Optical Solutions Group at Synopsys

In this talk, we discuss the mathematics of freeform surface descriptions, with emphasis on base surfaces versus freeform departures and on the use of off-axis conics as base surfaces.

Daniel Soh
Associate Professor at Wyant College of Optical Sciences, the University of Arizona

Prof. Soh will showcase how we can achieve super-resolution, surpassing the limitations set by Rayleigh diffraction in conventional imaging, using entangled multimode squeezed light. Compared to traditional imaging with classical light probes, quantum imaging with squeezed light markedly improves resolution.

Mohamed ElKabbash
Assistant Professor at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona

The aim of this talk is to provide a concise overview of the expansive scope of nanophotonics and highlight the breadth of its scope by focusing on two very different, yet surprisingly connected, topics.

Kyle Seyler
Assistant Professor, Wyant College of Optical Sciences

In this talk, Kyle Seyler will focus on their efforts to probe and control antiferromagnetic materials with ultrafast laser pulses.

Matt Eichenfield
SPIE Endowed Chair in University of Arizona’s Wyant College of Optical Sciences and a Distinguished Faculty Joint Appointee at Sandia National Laboratories

In this talk, Professor Eichenfield will discuss his groups’ work in using this property in specially designed microsystems to radically enhance the  performance of and enable completely novel functionalities in two very different classes of microsystems.