News

The boundaries of basic physics continue to be tested in the laboratory of Professor Ayman Abouraddy, Ph.D., with newly published research demonstrating the feasibility of accelerating light packets. The experimental realizations of accelerating optical pulses conducted by graduate student Murat Yessenov build on previous experiments that tuned the speed of light packets in free space…

Sarun Sumriddetchkajorn ’00, Ph.D., has built an impressive career in optics and photonics following his doctorate graduation in 2000. In an interview with CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics, Sumriddetchkajorn shares his career path and advice for current students. (Answers edited for clarity and length.)  CREOL: What started your path toward optics and photonics?…

By GENE KRUCKEMYER Three UCF researchers working on different projects have been awarded a total of about $1.3 million from the Department of Defense. The grants were part of the DOD awarding of $50 million to 85 institutions across the nation in the Fiscal Year 2021 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program. The recipients and their…

The depth of UCF’s research expertise is on full display in a recent compilation of the world’s top scholars — including 20 from CREOL, the College of Optics and Photonics. The list in the journal PLOS Biology used a composite indicator, based on six citation metrics, to rank the top 2% scientists from a variety…

The founding director of UCF CREOL Townes Laser Institute, Martin Richardson, Ph.D, was recently named a fellow in the National Academy of Inventors in recognition of his innovative work in the field of optics. An expert in lasers and their accompanying applications, Richardson has patented over 31 inventions in his time as a physicist. “There…

Three University of Central Florida researchers are among the world’s top 25 scholars in their field, and 100 are in the top 2%, according to a new study ranking career-long scientific impact of researchers from around the globe. BY ROBERT WELLS | DECEMBER 16, 2020

Ramy El-Ganainy, Ph.D., is a recipient of the prestigious Humboldt Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers. The fellowship spans 18 months, divided over three years. He will be hosted by Professor Kurt Busch at Berlin’s Humboldt University. The fellowship allows El-Ganainy to closely collaborate with the theoretical and experimental photonics groups in the host institute, and…

  The Arthur F. Greaves- Walker Lifetime Service Award is given to those that show exemplary leadership and innovation in their field. Pegasus Professor of Optics and Photonics and optical material scientist Kathleen Richardson, Ph.D, of UCF CREOL has recently been named the recipient of this award, celebrating her sustained commitment to the field of…

Watch the Fall 2020 CREOL Commencement Ceremonies Fall 2020 Virtual Commencement Ceremonies for CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics was on Saturday December 19, at 10:15 am. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nopxttO426U Ph.D. Graduates Juan Carlos Alvarado Zacarias Optics Ph.D. Shengli Fan Optics Ph.D. Jinxin Li Optics Ph.D. Danielle Reyes Physics Ph.D. Patrick Roumayah Optics Ph.D. Daniel Thul…

By LAURA COLE UCF was selected to receive four awards from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office, the most of any university this year. The awards total $9.64 million — $7 million from the DOE and $2.64 million in matches from UCF. Among the winners is 2015 CREOL doctorate graduate Kris Davis.…

The speed of pulses of light are not as fixed you might think — and that’s good news for your weekend movie streaming. New research published last week in Nature Communications builds on a previous proof of concept that showed it was possible to speed up, slow down and even direct a pulse of light…

Sergey Polyakov ’03 Ph.D., thrives on the unpredictability of his work. “I love to wake up knowing I’ll learn something new in the lab every day. I never know what it is that I am going to learn, and that unpredictability ignites inspiration within me,” said Polyakov, a staff physicist at the National Institute of…