Posts Tagged Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Nick Vamivakas, assistant professor of optics, thinks his team’s work will make extremely sensitive instruments for sensing tiny forces and torques possible, and could also lead to a way to physically create larger-scale quantum systems known as macroscopic Schrödinger Cat states.

David Williams, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on human vision, received the $500,000 prize for his transformative breakthroughs in vision research and adaptive optics.

Each year, seniors in the College are invited to nominate a high school teacher for consideration for the Singer Family Prize. The four award winners receive a plaque and $3,000, as well as $2,500 for their school.

Thirty-three scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs will have three minutes each to present their innovative idea in a rapid-fire competition to win a spot at the prestigious Falling Walls Lab Finale in Berlin.

Until now, optically active quantum dots have not been observed in materials consisting of a single layer of atom, also known as 2D materials. Rochester researchers have shown how the 2D material tungsten diselenide can be fashioned into an atomically thin semiconductor that serves as a platform for solid-state quantum dots.

The imaging system being developed at Rochester builds on work pioneered by David Williams, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on human vision. Williams pioneered the use of adaptive optics technologies for vision applications.

Researchers in the Institute of Optics have shown that a microplasma created by focusing intense laser pulses in air emits not only visible light, but also electromagnetic pulses at terahertz frequencies that can be used to detect complex molecules, such as explosives and drugs.

Therapeutic anti-bacterial agents intended to reduce dental plaque and prevent tooth decay are often removed by saliva and the act of swallowing before they can take effect. But a team of researchers has developed a way to keep the drugs from being washed away.

Speaking in public is the top fear for many people. Now, students and faculty from the Human-Computer Interaction Group have developed an intelligent user interface for “smart glasses” that gives real-time feedback to the speaker on volume modulation and speaking rate, and have made the tool freely available for downloading.

Although most materials slightly expand when heated, there is a new class of rubber-like material that not only self-stretches upon cooling; it reverts back to its original shape when heated, all without physical manipulation.