OSC Colloquium: Alejandro Rodriguez

    Date: 
    Thursday, March 4, 2021 - 3:30pm - 5:00pm
    Event Video: 
    Link
    Location: 
    Zoom Link to Attend - https://arizona.zoom.us/j/94012959093
    Registration: 

    Open to campus and public.

    Description: 

    Speaker:Alejandro Rodriguez

    Topic: Physical Limits on Light Scattering: A Complement to Inverse Design

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    Abstract(s): 
    Spurred by continued advances in computational methods, nanofabrication, and material
    synthesis, development of general-purpose electromagnetic solvers have been principally
    driven by the tantalizing possibility of accessing the full wave physics contained in Maxwell’s
    equations. Such developments have in turn raised questions pertaining to the underlying
    physical limitations of optical devices. Functioning as complements to large-scale
    structural optimization or ``inverse design'', the study of fundamental limits on optical
    processes has grown from a disparate collection of situation-specific and heuristic results into
    sophisticated general-purpose optimization techniques aimed at understanding the interplay of
    fundamental physics and optimal device performance. In this talk, we present an overview of
    recent developments in this area and their applications to light scattering, light–matter
    interactions, fluctuation phenomena, optical transformations, and communication.
    Speaker Bio(s): 
    Alejandro Rodriguez is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and the Director of
    the Program in Materials Science and Engineering at Princeton University. He received
    Bachelors and PhD degrees in Physics at MIT in 2006 and 2010, respectively, and was a
    Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University. His research centers around nanophotonics, the
    study of light in nanostructured media, where he has made contributions to the understanding
    of quantum and thermal fluctuations, nonlinear optics, numerical methods, and asymptotics.
    Alejandro was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the
    National Science Foundation Early CAREER Award, the Society of Hispanic Professional
    Engineers Young Investigator Award, and the Department of Energy Frederick A. Howes
    Award in Computational Science. When he is not playing with photons, he can be found in a
    superposition of dancing salsa, watching films, playing the piano, listening to Cuban music,
    and playing strategy games.