Professors Hui Deng and Mack Kira were recently elected as Fellows of the Optical Society (OSA), an honor which recognizes scientists who have made significant contributions to advancing the fields of optics and photonics.

Professor Hui Deng was recognized “for pioneering contributions to fundamental physics and applications of matter-light coupled systems including polariton condensation, polariton lasers, atomic quantum memories and site-controlled gallium nitride quantum dots.”

Professor Deng’s research focuses on creating and understanding new types of quantum systems made of quantum dots and polaritons. Quantum dots, nanometer-size particles created by confining electrons in a semiconductor, have been well-studied individually. However, Professor Deng’s group worked to create a web of many quantum dots that could be used in future technologies like nano-LEDs. Her group has also worked to create a new type of laser out of a system of polaritons, particles created when matter and light couple together in a material.

Professor Mack Kira was recognized “for pioneering contributions to the theory of semiconductor quantum optics.”

Professor Kira’s field, semiconductor quantum optics, is an interdisciplinary study of how light interacts with matter in semiconductor devices. One recent effort by Professor Kira’s group, along with experimental collaborators, was the discovery of the dropleton, a particle made of electrons and holes, inside a 2D semiconductor system called a quantum well. Professor Kira has also worked on utilizing other particles that arise from excitations of coupled light and matter to create an ultrafast collider in a semiconductor, which is used to further understand the properties of these particles.

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Professor Hui Deng

Professor Mack Kira

Optical Society 2019 Fellows