Past Events

Photonics Initiative seminar: Wencan Jin

June 25, 2025 @ 1:00 pm

Dr. Wencan Jin, Auburn University  Hybrid magnon-phonon cavity realized in a magnetoelastic heterostructure Abstract - Strong coupling between two quantized excitations leads to a hybridized state that allows to explore new phenomena and technologies. Phononic excitations, such as long-lived, high-overtone acoustic waves, can host many well-isolated modes at the same frequency. Meanwhile, magnetic excitations or magnons Read More

The 13th ETOPIM International Conference

June 16, 2025 @ 8:15 am

You're invited! Join us at the CUNY ASRC from June 16 to June 20 for the 13th ETOPIM international conference on elastic, electrical, transport, and optical properties of inhomogeneous media. The conference, hosted by the Photonics Initiative, aims to discuss experimental and theoretical developments in the field of inhomogeneous materials and metamaterials. The week-long event Read More

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Angel Rubio

May 29, 2025 @ 11:00 am

Dr. Angel Rubio, Max Planck Institute Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics for Quantum Materials Design   Angel Rubio Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany Initiative for Computational catalysis (ICC) and Center for Computational Quantum Physics (CCQ) Flatiron Institute,  10010 NY, USA Abstract - A central challenge in Read More

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Andrea Fiore

May 15, 2025 @ 11:00 am

Dr. Andrea Fiore, Eindhoven University of Technology. Nanophotonics on the Tip of a Fiber Abstract - By transferring nanopatterned semiconductor membranes on the tip of optical fibers, we combine the power of nanophotonics with the flexibility of fiber sensing. In this talk I will discuss a variety of fiber-tip sensors of physical and biochemical parameters Read More

CUNYSciCom’s 2025 Symposium

May 9, 2025 @ 10:00 am

A panel of judges (a science professor, a trained public liaison, and an undergraduate student) will give feedback to all participants, and cash prizes of up to $500 will be awarded! Sponsored by the Doctoral and Graduate Student Council, the GC Biology Department, and external donor funding. Hosted By Biology Doctoral and Graduate Students' Council Read More

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Danial Motlagh

April 29, 2025 @ 11:00 am

Dr. Danial Motlagh,  Xanadu Title: A Renaissance in Materials Discovery Abstract - Quantum computers have the potential to transform materials discovery for next-generation technologies from a slow and expensive trial and error process into a fast, cost-effective, simulation-driven endeavour. In this talk, I’ll share our vision for a quantum-accelerated materials discovery pipeline and the regimes Read More

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Weidong Zhou

April 25, 2025 @ 11:00 am

Dr. Weidong Zhou, Photonics Center, University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) Scaling towards high-power single-mode PCSELs and PCSEL Arrays (Photonic Crystal Surface-Emitting Lasers)  Abstract When it was first invented 60 years ago, the laser was described as “A solution looking for a problem”. Few predicted that lasers would ultimately support multi-trillion-dollar photonics-enabled markets today. Based Read More

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Arthur D. Yaghjian

April 7, 2025 @ 11:00 am

Dr. Arthur D. Yaghjian (Electromagnetics Research) Robust Field-Based Antenna Quality Factor Abstract – New field-based quality factors Q(ω) are derived for antennas with known fields produced by an input current. These Q(ω) are remarkably robust because they equal the input-impedance bandwidth quality factor QZ(ω) when the input impedance is available. Like QZ(ω), the field-based Q(ω) Read More

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Armando Genco

March 31, 2025 @ 11:00 am

Armando Genco (Politecnico di Milano) Ultrafast dynamics of coherent exciton-polaritons in van der Waals semiconductor metasurfaces Abstract - Metasurfaces based on transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have emerged as a promising platform for controlling light at the nanoscale due to their exceptional optical properties, including strong excitonic responses and intrinsically high refractive index. Unlike traditional dielectric metasurfaces, Read More

Photonics Initiative Seminar: Marc Serra Garcia

March 28, 2025 @ 11:00 am

Dr. Marc Serra Garcia (AMOLF) Physical computing in metamaterials Abstract - There is a significant range of physical phenomena—from nonlinear elasticity, to symmetry, noise, topology, and disorder — that are rarely utilized in traditional computing paradigms. Yet these phenomena can unlock new efficiencies, by directly processing signals in their natural domain, and by bypassing the Read More