Imaging and Optical Science

Imaging and Optical Science is a highly interdisciplinary area of study that combines expertise in fields spanning optics, materials, mathematics, computer science, and information science. Whether it’s probing a biological specimen or detecting an obstacle during navigation, light measurement in combination with advanced signal processing has demonstrated the ability to reveal information that was undetectable even a short while ago. Among a wide spectrum of exciting research problems in this domain, ECE faculty are currently involved in novel sensing and spectroscopic material design, optoelectronic imaging device development, integrated system and algorithm design, as well as microscopy and spectroscopy related to applications in biology, brain science, medicine, defense and security. Research activities in Imaging and Optical Science reach far beyond the department and the college thanks to cross-disciplinary collaborations facilitated by the Photonics Center, the Hariri Institute, and the Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering, just to name a few. We invite you to explore our research activities, meet our teams, and read about our success stories by visiting the faculty, lab and research center pages below.

Affiliated Faculty

Osama Alshaykh, Irving Bigio, David Boas, David Castañón, Ji-Xin Cheng, Farouk El-Baz, Vivek Goyal, Clem Karl, Janusz Konrad, Robert Kotiuga, Min-Chang Lee, Jerome Mertz, Abdoulaye Ndao, Siddharth Ramachandran, Michelle Sander, Joshua Semeter, Selim Ünlü,  Lei Tian, Brian Walsh

Affiliated Labs

• Biomedical Optics
• Cheng Group
• Computational Imaging Systems
• High Dimensional Photonics
• Information and Data Sciences
• Optical Characterization and Nanophotonics
• Semeter Space
• Signal Transformation and Information Representation
• Ultrafast Optics
• Visual Information Processing

Affiliated Research Centers

• Center for Information and Systems Engineering
• Center for Space Physics
• Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications NSF ERC
• Nanotechnology Innovation Center
• Neurophotonics Center
• Photonics Center
• Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering
• Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering

In the news:

• April 20, 2023

  The Sky’s the Limit: Ramachandran Team’s Light Transmission Discovery Published by Science

  Researchers’ new method for scaling up data capacity in optical fibers echoes astronomical phenomena - with significant implications for tomorrow’s internet. [ More ]

• February 7, 2023

  Cheng & Tian’s Newest Microscopy Advance Published by Nature Communications

  Professor Ji-Xin Cheng’s research group has made notable strides in improved chemical  imaging technologies, especially for medical purposes, over the last few years. [ More ]

• February 1, 2023

  Visionary, Recognized: Professor Goyal an AAAS Fellow

  The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering congratulates Professor Vivek Goyal on his appointment as a 2022 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); a prestigious honor, and richly deserved. Professor Goyal serves as the Associate Chair of Doctoral Programs for the department, as well as contributing... [ More ]

• December 14, 2022

  Pushing the Boundaries of Photonic Sensing

  Professor Luca Dal Negro has received a $450K grant from the Army Research Office to pursue improvements in quantum photonic sensing and detection technology driven by the development of novel nonlinear nanostructures. [ More ]

• May 11, 2022

  Monitoring and Miniaturization: Faculty Awarded $1M to Develop High-Resolution Sensors for Use with Nanoscale Devices

  Professors Alexander Sergienko and Abdoulaye Ndao, working with a team of researchers at SUNY Buffalo, have been awarded a $1M Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) grant by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) to develop novel sensors for microelectronics. [ More ]