Professor Ivan Smalyukh has been named a Fellow of Optica (formerly OSA) for his innovative research in soft condensed matter and optical physics.
The election to Fellow is reserved for Optica members who have served with distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics. According to Optica, the distinction is awarded to less than 10 percent of the society鈥檚 membership, resulting in a highly competitive selection process.
Smalyukh was elected for his development of biaxial and plasmonic colloidal liquid crystals, light-powered micro-motors, and light control by topologically nontrivial structures of optical axis.
In the announcement of this year鈥檚 Fellows, Optica President Michal Lipson remarked 鈥淚t is a pleasure to honor these members who are advancing our field and society. We are grateful for their exceptional work and dedication.鈥�
Professor Smalyukh received his PhD in Chemical Physics from Kent State University. He was a postdoctoral research associate and visiting scientist before joining the Department of Physics faculty in 2007. Smalyukh has also previously been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE).
Smalyukh joins a growing list of physics and affiliated faculty that have been named Fellows of Optica including Dana Anderson, Andreas Becker, Eric Cornell, Scott Diddams, Juliet Gopinath, John Hall, Henry Kapteyn, Margaret Murnane, Markus Raschke, Thomas Schibli, Carl Wieman, David Wineland, and Jun Ye.听听