Air Force-funded researcher among top 50 technological leaders

  • Published
  • By Maria Cecile Callier
  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNEWS) --  A researcher funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research is included in the "2006 Scientific American List of 50 Leaders in Science and Technology" for building circuits using light at nanometer scales.

Dr. Nader Engheta, professor of electrical and systems engineering and professor of bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science, was honored for his work in plasmonics using circuit elements. These elements work with light instead of electricity. They use metal (inductors) and non-metal materials (optical capacitors) to create fluctuations in the electric field associated with the light.

The award honors 50 individuals, teams, companies and other organizations that have shown outstanding technological leadership in the past year.

Mr. Engheta's research is paving the way towards nanocircuits, which could provide high-capacity data storage, or "nanobarcodes," at optical wavelength and lenses with higher resolutions. This, in turn, could allow scientists to view minute objects from far away.

"Supermicroscopy may become an important element for the future imaging system in various Air Force platforms," he said. "Another interesting and important application is in the miniaturization of devices and components which will eventually lead to lighter weight and smaller volume for future airborne platforms."

Though there are conflicting features to be overcome in working with plasmonics, including material loss and narrow bandwidth, Mr. Engheta envisions a future in which nanocircuits will be "interfaced" with biological structures because of their similarity to entities like collections of molecules.

"I would like to test some of these ideas and see what we can learn from such tests which will then help us to push the envelope in the theory side," he said.

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