Having worked in multiple areas of optics and photonics during her time at CREOL, Swati Bhargava continues to add accolades to her resume.

Following her presentation on “Observation of Topological Flat-Band States in Photonic Lattices”, Bhargava was announced as the winner of CREOL’s 2025-2026 Student of the Year Award.

“It is a tremendous honor,” Bhargava says, adding that she spent more than a year on making the experiments work in this research, which focuses on a core challenge in photonics: how to control the way light propagates through complex structures.

“We have carefully designed an array of waveguides, which enabled us to design a structure that is resilient against both scattering and diffraction,” she says. “Having topological edge states and flat-band states exist in the same band gap enables the precise control of light.”

This research opens possibilities for applications in quantum information, imaging, optical computing, and more.

In addition to her studies, Bhargava has been an active member in the student chapters of SPIE, Optica, and IEEE, and serves as a CREOL student ambassador.

“This recognition inspires me to continue striving for excellence, to remain resilient through challenges, and to make a positive impact through both my research and service,” Bhargava says.

As the winner of the competition, Bhargava will receive a $900 prize and a certificate to be presented during the 2026 Industrial Affiliates Symposium on March 6. She will also give a talk at the Symposium. Bhargava extends thanks to her PhD adviser Professor Miguel Bandres, who has supported her throughout her academic journey, fellow graduate student Vinzenz Zimmermann, who also worked on this research project, and their external collaborator, Professor Alexander Szameit at the University of Rostock, Germany.

Bhargava received her Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Computer Engineering at the LNM Institute of Information Technology, a Master’s Degree in Photonic Networks Engineering from Aston University, and a Master’s Degree in Optics from the University of Rochester. Her research focuses on the design, simulation, fabrication, and characterization of photonic lattices, encompassing a range of structures from photonic lanterns to topological arrays. You can read more about her research here.