{"id":16,"date":"2019-05-28T15:36:13","date_gmt":"2019-05-28T19:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/nano\/?page_id=16"},"modified":"2025-05-09T12:12:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T16:12:08","slug":"people","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/nano\/people\/","title":{"rendered":"People"},"content":{"rendered":"

Group Leader<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Prof. Luca Dal Negro<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n

Luca Dal Negro <\/strong><\/span>received both the Laurea in Physics, cum laude<\/em>, in 1999 and the Ph.D. degree in Physics from the University of Trento (Italy) in 2003. After his Ph.D., he joined MIT as a post-doctoral research associate. Since January 2006, he is a faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boston University (BU). He is currently a Full Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, a member of the Boston University Photonics Center and holds appointments in the Department of Physics and in the Division of Material Science at Boston University. In 2006, he was visiting professor at MIT in the Materials Science Department and in 2019 he was visiting professor at Brown University in the Department of Applied Mathematics. Prof. Dal Negro manages and conducts research projects on theoretical and experimental aspects of light transport, scattering, and localization phenomena in complex photonic media, nano and quantum optics, metamaterials, AI-driven inverse design and optimization methods. He was associate editor of the journal MRS Communications<\/em>, published jointly by the Materials Research Society and Springer, and of European Physical Journal (EPJ) Plus<\/em>, published by Springer with the European Physical Society. He has authored and co-authored over 250 technical papers, 16 book chapters, and has a google scholar h-index=66 with more than 17,600 citations. He authored 2 books, including the comprehensive volume \u201cWaves in Complex Media<\/em>\u201d published by Cambridge University Press in 2022. His research work resulted in several Awards including the Early Career Research Excellence Award and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Award. Prof. Dal Negro was elected Fellow of the Optical Society of America (currently OPTICA) \u201cFor <\/em>his <\/em>numerous contributions in the theoretical and experimental aspects of wave interaction with aperiodic nanostructures<\/em>\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n

Email:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>dalnegro at bu.edu<\/p>\n

Current Group Members<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Post-Docs<\/h4>\n

Dr. Riccardo Franchi<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ph.D. University if Trento (Italy), Department of Physics<\/p>\n

Modeling and characterization of\u00a0 photonic structures and devices. Inverse-design of diffractive optical elements and nanophotonic cavities.<\/p>\n

Email:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>rfranch1 at bu.edu<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/h4>\n

Graduate Students<\/h4>\n

Tornike Shubitidze<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Received a BS at the University of New Hampshire in 2019 in Physics where he worked on developing unmanned low-frequency electromagnetic sensors at the Cold Regions Research Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, NH. He is currently a PhD candidate at Boston University working in Prof. Dal Negro\u2019s lab on the fabrication and characterization of complex photonic systems, non-linear optics and quantum optics.<\/p>\n

Email: tornike at bu.edu<\/p>\n

Roberto Riganti<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I am a second-year physics PhD student in the Physics Department at BU working with Prof. Dal Negro on network-driven computational methods for materials design and photonics . My research focuses on inverse problems using adaptive physics-informed neural networks (PINNs). I model\u00a0 heat transfer in complex geometries beyond the traditional Fourier regime and radiative transfer in semiconductor and photonic systems.<\/p>\n

Email: rober16 at edu<\/p>\n

Smridhi Chawla<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I am a PhD student in the Physics Department at BU working with Prof. Dal Negro on the fabrication and characterization of novel materials for aberration-free meta-lenses.<\/p>\n

Email: smridhi at bu.edu<\/p>\n

Peyton Brown<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I am currently a PhD candidate at Boston University working in Prof. Dal Negro\u2019s lab on experimental quantum optics, non-linear optics, and diffractive optical devices.<\/p>\n

Email: ptbrown at bu.edu<\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

Undergraduate Students<\/h4>\n

Wiktor Lidwin<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A senior undergraduate student majoring in computer science and working with Prof .Dal Negro on physics-informed neural networks for scientific computing.<\/p>\n

Email: wlidwin at bu.edu<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Former Group Members<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Post-Docs<\/h4>\n

Dr. Fabrizio Sgrignuoli<\/span><\/p>\n

Ph.D. University if Trento (Italy), Department of Physics<\/p>\n

Computational modeling of complex photonic structures and metamaterials. Multiple light scattering in random media.<\/p>\n

Email:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>sgrigno at bu.edu<\/p>\n

Current position<\/strong>: Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council, Italy<\/p>\n

Dr. Carlo Forestiere<\/span><\/p>\n

Current position<\/strong>: Associate Professor, University of Naples Federico II, Italy<\/p>\n

Ph.D University Federico II of Naples, Department of Electrical Engineering<\/p>\n

Electromagnetic simulations of micromagnetic systems and plasmonic structures.<\/p>\n

Dr. Antonio Capretti<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Current position<\/strong>: Data scientist, Objectiv, \u00a0Netherlands<\/p>\n

Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Italy<\/p>\n

Optical characterization, design and modelling of novel materials and nanostructures for Nano-Optics, including\u00a0nonlinear\u00a0optical generation and light emission.<\/p>\n

Dr. Salvatore Minissale<\/span><\/p>\n

Current position<\/strong>: R&D Optical Scientist at Terabee<\/p>\n

I received my MSc at the University of Catania, Italy in December 2003 and my PhD at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands in March 2009. I moved to Boston in March 2010, after one year postdoc at the Institute for photonic science (ICFO) in Barcelona, Spain. My main research interests involve non-linear techniques, ultrafast optical spectroscopies such as pump-probe experiments, optical gain measurements on plasmonic and semiconductor nanostructures, Z-scan and Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) techniques for Nonlinear optics of nanoplasmonic structures.<\/p>\n

Dr. Emanuele F. Pecora<\/span><\/p>\n

Current Position<\/strong>: Sr. Science and Tech. Fellow, at DOE Solar, Switzerland<\/p>\n

Born in 1983, Emanuele F. Pecora received\u00a0his master degree in Physics (summa cum laude) in 2006 and the PhD in Physics in 2010 defending the thesis “Growth, properties and processing of group IV semiconductor nanowires” at University of Catania, IT. He worked as PostDoc fellow at Matis labs (Catania, IT) and then he joined the group in March 2011. His main research interest include growth and characterization of group IV semiconductor nanowires,\u00a0ion irradiation effects in silicon nanostructures, luminescence properties of silicon nanostructures, rare earth optical properties, dopant diffusion and clustering in crystalline and amorphous silicon. Now, his research activity involves gain measurements and ultrafast optical properties of nitrides in the UV region.<\/p>\n

Dr. Svetlana Boriskina<\/span><\/p>\n

Current Position<\/strong>: Research Scientist, Mechanical Engineering, MIT<\/p>\n

I joined the group as a Research Associate in January 2008. Previously I worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham (Nottingham, UK) and a Senior Research Scientists at V. Karazin Kharkov National University (Kharkov, Ukraine).<\/p>\n

I received my MSc and PhD degrees from the School of Radiophysics of V. Karazin Kharkov National University with a PhD thesis entitled \u201cScattering of surface waves and beams by open waveguide discontinuities & reflectors\u201d. My main research interests include: boundary integral equations methods in computational electromagnetics, nanophotonics and plasmonics; theory and design of dielectric and semiconductor microcavities; whispering gallery modes coupling in photonic molecules and coupled-resonator optical waveguides; optical fiber mode solvers; and most recently, light scattering and localization in periodic and aperiodic photonic crystals.<\/p>\n

Dr. Ning-Ning Feng<\/span>, Post Doctoral Associate<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Computational electromagnetics and design of plasmonic and photonic structures.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Former Graduate Students<\/span><\/h3>\n

Yilin Zhu<\/span><\/strong>Inverse design of advanced diffractive devices for imaging and spectroscopy with network and optimization techniques.<\/p>\n

Email: ylzhu96 at bu.edu<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wesley Britton, PhD student<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fabrication and characterization of tunable optical metamaterials for optical nonlinearity enhancement<\/p>\n

Email:<\/strong>wab at bu.edu<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yuyao Chen, PhD student<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Electromagnetic simulations of plasmonic nanostructures and homogenization theory of metamaterials.<\/p>\n

Email:<\/strong>yuyao at bu.edu<\/p>\n

Sean Gorsky, MS student<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Design and characterization of diffractive optical devices and nanostructures.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

David Taylor Henderson, MS student<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Design and characterization of aperiodic photonic structures based on number theory.<\/p>\n

Current Position<\/strong>: Mathworks, Inc.<\/p>\n

Yu Wang<\/span>,<\/strong> PhD student<\/span>Fabrication and optical characterization of active metamaterials and photonic structures.<\/p>\n

Development of alternative plasmonic materials based on Silicon-compatible platforms<\/p>\n

ENZ tunable media and metamaterials<\/p>\n

Ren Wang<\/span>,<\/strong> PhD student<\/span><\/p>\n

Current Position<\/strong>: Imaging Scientist, Boston Process Technologies, Inc.<\/p>\n

Computational electromagnetic and design of optical materials<\/p>\n

Ran Zhang<\/span><\/strong>, PhD student<\/span><\/p>\n

Novel plasmonic sensing mateirals and active nano-fibers<\/p>\n

Selcuk Yerci<\/span><\/strong>, PhD student<\/span><\/p>\n

B.S. Middle East Technical University, 2004, Ankara, Turkey
\nM.S. Middle East Technical University, 2007, Ankara, Turkey
\nPh.D Electrical and Computer Science Engineering, Boston University<\/p>\n

Current Position<\/strong>: Assistant Professor, METU, Ankara, Turkey<\/p>\n

Fabrication and optical characterization of Si and Ge nanocrystals formed into different matrices using FTIR, Raman, XPS, XRD and PL. Silicon photonics and solar cells<\/p>\n

Dianmin Lin<\/span><\/strong>, MS<\/span>student<\/span><\/p>\n

Current Position<\/strong>: post-doctoral scholar, ECE, Standford University<\/p>\n

B.S. Optoelectronics, Harbin Institute of Technology (China)
\nM.S. Boston University, Electrical and Computer Science Engineering<\/p>\n

Testing and optical characterization of novel solar cell materials and photonic structures, nano-imprint lithography, novel lithographic techniques for scalable nanoimprint, fabrication and characterization of polymer-based photonic structures.<\/p>\n

Travis Rich<\/span><\/strong>, MS <\/span>student<\/span><\/p>\n

B.S. Boston University, Electrical and Computer Science Engineering
\nCurrent Position<\/strong>: Ph.D. Student, Media Lab, MIT<\/p>\n

Light propagation and photon transport in complex waveguides, photon Monte Carlo simulations, experimental characterization of photonic anomalous diffusion in fractals and aperiodic structures.<\/p>\n

Rui Li<\/span><\/strong>,<\/span> PhD student<\/span><\/p>\n

Current Position<\/strong>: Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Toronto<\/p>\n

Optical spectroscopy of silicon nanocrystals, ultrafast emission spectroscopy, optical gain measurements, energy transfer studies in nanocrystals-based systems. Fabrication of Si-based nanomaterials.<\/p>\n

Ashwin Gopinath<\/strong><\/span>, PhD student<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Current Position<\/strong>: Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT<\/p>\n

Current Research<\/strong>: Working on developing self assembles planar optical and electrical devices using DNA origami for single molecule biophysics experiments<\/p>\n

Dissertation: \u00a0Electromagnetic Field Enhancement and Light Localization in Deterministic Aperiodic Nanostructures<\/p>\n

Joseph Patrick Warga<\/span><\/strong>, MS student<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Occupation: Photonics Engineer<\/p>\n

Fabrication and characterization of Silicon Rich Nitride and Erbium Doped Silicon Rich Nitride.\u00a0 Experiments include magnetron sputtering, ebeam evaporation, rapid thermal annealing, photolithography, electrical characterization (I-V, C-V, conductivity), photoluminescence spectroscopy, transmission spectroscopy, ellipsometry, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, transverse electron microscopy, and cathode luminescence.<\/p>\n

Roman Shugayev<\/span>,<\/strong> MS student<\/span><\/p>\n

Optics of fractals, computational modeling of aperiodic nanoparticle arrays.<\/p>\n

Patrick Gregg<\/span>,<\/strong> PhD <\/span>student Electrical Engineering<\/span><\/p>\n

B.S. Optics (University of Rochester)
\nB.A. Physics\/ Japanese Language (University of Rochester)<\/p>\n

Nate Lawrence,<\/strong><\/span>PhD student<\/p>\n

Current Position<\/strong>: Philips Lumileds<\/p>\n

B.S. Physics (University of Richmond)<\/p>\n

Electron-beam nanofabrication of plasmonics devices and photonic crystals structures, Femtosecond optical spectroscopy of nanoscale materials, electromagnetic scattering simulations of plasmonic structures, radiative engineering with active nanopillars.<\/p>\n

Gary Walsh<\/span>,<\/strong> PhD <\/span>student<\/span><\/p>\n

Current Position<\/strong>: Researcher, US Army Natick Soldier RDGE Center<\/p>\n

B.S. Electrical Engineering (Columbia University)
\nB.S. Applied Physics(Providence College)
\nM.S. Electrical Engineering (Boston University)<\/p>\n

Electromagntic simulation, fabrication and optical characterization of two-dimensional periodic and aperiodic diffraction gratings and plasmonic devices for optical limiting applicatiions, light scattering spectroscopy of aperiodic systems.<\/p>\n

Alyssa Pasquale<\/span>,<\/strong> PhD <\/span>student<\/span><\/p>\n

Current Position<\/strong>: Researcher, Argonne National Lab.<\/p>\n

B.S. Electrical Engineering (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
\nM.S. Electrical Engineering (Boston University)<\/p>\n

Fabrication and optical characterization of two-dimensional periodic and aperiodic diffraction gratings and plasmonic devices for optical sensing. Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) with engineered plasmonic structures.<\/p>\n

Sylvanus Lee<\/span>,<\/strong> PhD <\/span>student in Mechanical Engineering<\/span><\/p>\n

B.Eng Mechanical Engineering (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
\nM. Phil Mechanical Engineering (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)<\/p>\n

Microfluidic and optofluidics with plasmonic structures, microfabrication and nanofabrication techniques for multiparametric plasmon sensors, optical characterization of sensor devices.<\/p>\n

Jacob Trevino<\/span>,<\/strong> PhD <\/span>student in Materials Science and Eng.<\/span><\/p>\n

Current Position<\/strong>: CUNY Nanofabrication facility manager<\/p>\n

B.S. Physics\/B.A. Mathematics (Susquehanna University)
\nM.S. Electrical Engineering (Case Western Reserve University)<\/p>\n

Materials Science of Si-based nanostructures, deposition techniques, nanofabrication and elctron beam lithography of plasmonic-photonic structures, optical characterization of plasmonic structures, Finite Element and analytical calcualtions of multiple light scattering (GMT) in aperiodic plasmonic\/photonic structures.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Visiting students<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Mrs. Ekin Aslan<\/span>,PhD student<\/span><\/p>\n

(Erciyes University, Turkey)<\/em><\/p>\n

Fractal optics and nanoplasmonics<\/p>\n

Mr. Stefano Prezioso<\/span>, PhD student<\/span><\/p>\n

(University of Trento, Italy)<\/em><\/p>\n

Electrical characterization of Si-based nanostructures<\/p>\n

Ms. Giuliana Dimartino<\/span>, visiting MS student<\/span><\/p>\n

M.S. University of Catania, MATIS Centre, Physics
\nCurrent Position<\/strong>: Imperial College, Ph. D. student, Physics<\/p>\n

Plasmonics Solar Cells<\/p>\n

Mr. Francesco Floris<\/span>, PhD student<\/span><\/p>\n

(University of Pavia ,Italy)<\/em><\/p>\n

Plasmonic biosensors and gratings<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Group Leader Prof. Luca Dal Negro Luca Dal Negro received both the Laurea in Physics, cum laude, in 1999 and the Ph.D. degree in Physics from the University of Trento (Italy) in 2003. After his Ph.D., he joined MIT as a post-doctoral research associate. Since January 2006, he is a faculty member in the Department […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16034,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/no-sidebars.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/nano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/nano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/nano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/nano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16034"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/nano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/nano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":402,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/nano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16\/revisions\/402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/nano\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}