What began as a biological sciences’ extra-credit assignment bloomed into a project that is helping to slow the erosion of sediment into Toby Creek by converting a barren parking lot into a diverse natural habitat.

“We had been discussing in class how important increasing the type of plants on campus would be to increase overall biodiversity,” said Ian O’Shaughnessy, an undergraduate biology student who designed the project to re-wild Parking Lot 27. Re-wilding refers to returning an ecosystem to a previous state.

“I was walking on campus, and I noticed we had a lot of the same types of landscaping,” O’Shaughnessy said. “It was all manicured Bermuda grass and tall trees. I thought that increasing the number of plants and animals could help improve biodiversity.”

Adam Reitzel, an assistant professor in biological sciences, had challenged O’Shaughnessy and the other students in his conservation biology class to consider the issue of biodiversity on UNC Charlotte’s campus.

“I have a personal passion for giving students the opportunity to engage in science,” Reitzel said. “Students have many opportunities to explore science in hands-on ways, and sometimes they are just not aware of that. I’m really interested in having my students engage outside the classroom and think about the relevance of what they’re learning in the classroom.”

The assignment called for students to present their conservation-based project plans to faculty members. O’Shaughnessy’s project moved quickly from theory to practice, as he presented his idea to university landscape architect Peter Franz, biological sciences faculty members including Carrie Wells and UNC Charlotte Facilities Management team members. The university team endorsed the project and suggested Lot 27 near Harris Alumni Center as an area that needed help.

“The whole parking lot was actually part of a sustainable design that intended for the sediment to go into a retention pond,” O’Shaughnessy said. “But it hadn’t worked out that way because the erosion happened too quickly. Maintenance had actually stopped maintaining the hill because it was futile. Every time it rained, all the mulch washed directly into the parking lot.”

The sediment and mulch then flowed into Toby Creek and the surrounding watershed.

O’Shaughnessy researched hundreds of plants for their ability to hold the soil in place and attract insects and animals, consulting with Paula Gross of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens and Scott Taylor, an expert on native plants.

“We wanted to make sure that all the plants were native to the area,” O’Shaughnessy said. “So a lot of time was spent researching the ranges of different plants. We wanted to make sure that they served their role to help trap the sediment. I did some research into that issue, as well as increasing biodiversity and what would provide a food source for different things.”

O’Shaughnessy completed the planning phase within a few weeks, Reitzel said. “Then it came down to, ‘How are we going to get the money to do the project?” he said. “The idea’s here, we have a lot of interest.’ So that’s where Ian and I teamed up again in order to locate some funds.”

The Charlotte Green Initiative, a UNC Charlotte student group that focuses on sustainability efforts, provided funding. O’Shaughnessy recruited volunteers from the university and the community to install the excelsior matting and plants during the spring semester.

In the months since, plants have flowered and attracted insects, birds and other animals. For the team that helped O’Shaughnessy bring his vision to life, the work is a testament to student creativity and initiative.

“He had the insight and drive to initiate his project and the knowledge to implement it,” Franz said. “I was impressed with his dedication to environmental sustainability. Typically when students come to me about projects like this, I’m amazed at their commitment to it and knowledge they have about the subject. The benefit to the campus and community is to demonstrate the many components of sustainability. Since it is really a system-based concept, every demonstration project like Ian’s helps educate the community.”

For O’Shaughnessy, the project gave an opportunity to live his beliefs.

“I hope that people will see that a very simple idea when implemented can turn into something amazing,” he said. “There is really no insignificant effort. You don’t have to do something huge to make a difference. As a scientist, you have the obligation to do the morally right thing. You should use what you have learned for the good of everyone.”

Words: Skye Allan | Images: Lynn Roberson

As people worldwide cry out for safe drinking water, UNC Charlotte master’s degree student Billy Johnson has discovered a way to help, through nanoscience.

Working with his UNC Charlotte faculty mentor Jordan Poler, Johnson has developed a novel nanomaterial they believe can push science forward in the removal of certain potential carcinogens from water. Last fall, Johnson received the Thomas D. Walsh Graduate Research Fellowship to support his work.

“I’m passionate about preserving our environment, and doing my part to make sure that future generations get to breathe clean air, and drink clean water,” Johnson says. “Our society relies heavily on processes that are detrimental to the environment, and we’re already starting to see some of the effects in the form of climate change. We have to focus on resolving the environmental issues.”

All active water resources contain natural organic matter. These compounds, specifically humic and fulvic acids, pose a potential health hazard. Modern water treatment techniques depend upon chlorine to destroy bacterial pathogens. However, the natural organic matter reacts with the chlorine to form disinfection byproducts with human health risks.

“Natural organic matter is found in all active water sources, so we need to remove it before the water treatment process,” Johnson says. “This NanoResin, as we call it, has proven to be more effective than the currently available products. Also, our NanoResin can be readily regenerated and reused by simply adding it to a brine solution, or salt water. It’s a sustainable solution to a difficult environmental problem.”

Nanoscale science focuses on materials that range from about 1-100 nanometers. A nanometer is about 1/1000th the thickness of a hair. For nanomaterials to work, they must be assembled into useful structures, such as a carbon nanotube, or nano-sized cylinder of carbon atoms.

Creating Useful Materials to Address Pressing Issues

“In our research group, we focus on fundamental systems at the nanoscale with regard to applications of materials on the macroscale,” Poler says. “So we’re more of a materials science group, creating useful materials with applications in mind. Our material of choice is nanostructured carbon, or more specifically, carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes are the strongest materials known to man, and they have an extremely high aspect ratio with nearly unrivaled specific surface area. However, they are not dispersible in water, so they immediately aggregate and are effectively useless.”

To tackle this problem, Johnson developed hybrid nanoparticles that use the nanotubes as scaffolding for a hydrophilic polymer. The nanotubes can then be dispersed into the aqueous systems. The anion-exchange resin polymer conforms itself to the immense surface area of the nanotubes, coating the nanotubes and removing the contaminants from the water.

The researchers have seen significant decreases in contaminant concentration, even at very low concentrations of the contaminants. Their studies suggest that their nanomaterial is three times more efficient than currently available removal technologies.

Johnson and Poler believe they have a product that could eventually make it into water treatment facilities as a viable solution. They are preparing an academic paper for publication and exploring options for the material.

The Poler Research Group works with students from the Nanoscale Science and the Optical Science and Engineering doctoral programs, the Chemistry master’s program and undergraduates from Chemistry, Physics and Optical Science, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Mathematics and Statistics. High school students also join the team from time to time.

“Dr. Poler continually pushes us to grow as scientists, and takes every opportunity to teach us,” Johnson says. “I have grown immensely as a scientist and his mentoring has been the driving force behind that.”

Poler saw potential in Johnson from the first class Johnson took with Poler. He has seen Johnson continue to grow as a researcher and leader as Johnson taught general chemistry labs and in the research group.

“He started strong in the lab and showed dedication to safety, attention to detail, and being productive,” Poler says. “He has developed into a very competent and creative research student. I expect him to find success at all stages of his career.”

The work Poler does with Johnson and other students continues not only to advance science, but to also grow students.

“I believe the path toward success starts with being an effective, purposeful, and compelling communicator,” Poler says. “Beyond the laboratory, our students need guidance developing their careers. I work closely with my students to help them prepare for poster and oral presentations. My mantra to them is that everything you write, or draw, or say should be purposeful. Every chart, table, picture, or graph should be presented as if it was going into your thesis, or dissertation, or a publication, or your Nobel Prize acceptance speech.”

Poler considers each student’s needs when acting as a mentor. One thing that remains constant is a focus on experiential learning.

“The importance of an open-ended research experience for students is critical,” he says. “Getting students into our research labs is transformative for them. I am always amazed at their growth and their development toward independent thought.”

For Johnson, the potential for his work to make its way into water treatment plants holds special meaning. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at UNC Charlotte in 2011, he worked as a chemistry technician at a water treatment facility in Gastonia. He then worked in quality assurance at Special Metals Welding Products Company before beginning his graduate studies in fall 2014. He plans to pursue a doctorate in a materials chemistry program focusing on environmental issues.

“I arrived at that field of study based on my passion for chemistry, but I also wanted to have applications in mind when developing new materials,” he says. “Materials science can be looked at as the link between fundamental studies of the physical sciences and engineering. I’m focusing on environmental issues because this is the only planet we get. If we destroy this one, there isn’t a backup.”

Words: Brittany Algiere | Image: Lynn Roberson

As first author of a research paper in the prestigious academic journal PLOS ONE, biology undergraduate and Charlotte Research Scholar Jenna Brown picked up an impressive honor – and a new nickname.

“Becoming a published author as an undergraduate student still feels surreal to me,” says Brown, who co-authored the paper with mentor Dennis Livesay, bioinformatics and genomics professor. “It was fun being able to share the news with my family and friends, who now refer to me as “Scientifically Suitable” after hearing about reviewers’ comments.”

Brown is one of hundreds of UNC Charlotte undergraduates who have participated in the Charlotte Research Scholars initiative at UNC Charlotte. Each summer, students apply for the 10-week program. Those chosen receive a scholarship to work closely with faculty mentors conducting research. They also participate in professional development sessions to better prepare them for graduate school and careers.

Brown is embracing the serious side of her nickname, using these early research opportunities as fuel for her passion. “The paper was never meant to be the end point for me, though it was certainly a goal,” she says. “The most exciting part of this for me is that it isn’t over.”

The work has made progress in the search for a weak spot in the architecture of a group of enzymes that are essential to antibiotic resistance in a number of bacteria, using a complex modeling program that helps analyze the physical dynamics of large, structurally complex protein molecules.

“This work was the first research experience I had, and for me it involved a learning curve,” Brown says. “I have gained confidence in my ability to function as a part of a professional academic team, become more comfortable with computers, developed into a seasoned public speaker, and gained a better understanding of what I hope to do post-graduation.”

A senior, she is currently applying to pharmacy schools, marrying her love of chemistry and biology with her interest in a medical career.

Another Charlotte Research Scholar, Henry Tigri, worked with mentor Michael Turner, a professor in the Criminal Justice and Criminology Department, to research the relationship between gang membership and firearms and bully victimization and firearms.

“Dr. Turner became a great mentor, in research specifically, criminology broadly and in life in general,” says Tigri, who graduated with degrees in criminal justice and psychology. “My role included selecting our research topic, discussing how we might get answers to our research questions, collecting data, and analyzing that data. Dr. Turner gave me the reins, but worked with me to explain the processes, including how to work with the statistical software.”

Tigri published two papers, one with fellow student Jennifer Devinney, in the American Journal of Criminal Justice and the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. His research experiences stood out when he applied to graduate school, he says, and he currently is pursuing his master’s degree in accounting at Florida State University.

“Research teaches analytical and critical thinking, problem solving, troubleshooting, attention to detail and other skills,” he says. “I would go so far as to say that my research experience has taught me more usable skills that are applicable in the real world and the working world than the rest of my undergraduate education as a whole.”

Like Tigri and Brown, physics student Luke Hardy worked closely with his mentor, physics and optical science professor Nathaniel Fried, researching the thulium fiber laser as an alternative to conventional lasers. Their work has resulted in papers in major journals and conference presentations.

“Carrying out research is not just sitting in a lab and doing experiments,” says Hardy, who now is pursuing his doctoral degree in optical science and engineering at UNC Charlotte. “A big part is explaining what you do, why it is important, and how you are able to do it. Being faced with multiple situations where I had to explain what I was doing in front of audiences has helped me overcome my fear of public speaking.”

Fried meets with students each day to discuss individual projects, which keeps the pace moving, Hardy says.

“All research has its dead ends and hard decisions; it wouldn’t be research if it didn’t,” he says. “Because Dr. Fried talks with us frequently, it helps us decide on the best path possible with our research. The hands-on aspect of the lab helps you visualize and attack problems in the classroom a lot easier.”

Hardy knew he wanted to use his knowledge and interest in engineering and science to help others.

“My father had a serious issue from a urinary stone blocking his urinary tract,” he says. “He was in the hospital for a while and needed surgery to remove the stone. I thought that if there was an easier way to destroy stones inside of the body, then I would love to help make that possible.

Words: Brittany Algiere | Images: Lynn Roberson and Aaron Cress

Sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and other devastating illnesses threaten the lives of millions of people and livestock worldwide, particularly in developing Latin American and African countries. While tsetse fly and other insect bites spread the diseases, the true culprits are parasites that so far have defied efforts to combat them.

One reason for the difficulty in dealing with these trypanosomatid parasites is their unique mitochondrial DNA structure, known as kinetoplast DNA. UNC Charlotte mathematician Yuanan Diao is working with researchers across the country to unlock the secrets of the organisms’ DNA.

“When we talk about treating a disease, one approach is to attack its replication process and interrupt it so it cannot reproduce,” said Diao, chair of UNC Charlotte’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics. His research interests include Knot Theory and Geometrical Topology.

“If you understand the DNA of an organism well enough, then you could develop a drug that actually interrupts this process,” he said. “Unfortunately in this case, we still do not understand exactly how this DNA works and how it is replicated. Therefore, we have no idea how to attack it. If there is any hope, understanding it will be the first step. Without understanding, there is no hope.”

The DNA in these organisms is organized into a unique network containing several thousand interlocked short circular DNA chains (called minicircles) and a handful of longer circular DNA chains (called maxicircles). The kDNA is confined within a cyclinder, called the kinetoplast disk. In that disk, the DNA concentration is comparable to that of the bacterial nucleoid. While scientists have been able to gain some knowledge about the networks, their function and origin are still largely unknown.

Biologists have questioned whether the interlocking circles connect for a reason, or randomly, and the mathematical models Diao has developed help researchers to study this question.

“The numerical evidence we have obtained indicates that, when you have a lot of the minicircles crowded in a confined space like the kDNA disk, it is natural for them to form a complicated network through linking between adjacent minicircles,” Diao said. “So, the kDNA probably doesn’t really need any other special mechanism for the minicircles to form a complicated network as having been observed by us.”

When these results are interpreted in the context of the mitochondrial DNA of the trypanosome, they suggest that confinement plays a key role on the formation of the linked network, that is, the mere fact that there are too many minicircles crowded in a small space would lead to the formation of a complicated network.

Diao has drawn upon work he did 20 years ago, which he published in an academic paper at that time. That paper considered from a pure mathematical perspective how circles contained in a tight space would interact with each through topological linking. A colleague, Javier Arsuaga of the University of California at Davis, realized the potential connection of that paper and the minicircle network problem in kDNA and approached Diao about collaborating.

They have published academic papers together, including “The effect of volume exclusion on the formation of DNA minicircle networks: implications to kinetoplast DNA,” in the Journal of Physics, along with colleagues K. Hinson and Y. Sun of UNC Charlotte and “Orientation of DNA minicircles balances density and topological complexity in kinetoplast DNA,” in the journal PLOS ONE, along with Victor Rodriguez of Columbia University and Michele Klingbeil of University of Massachusetts.

“Understanding the kDNA network structure is a huge deal,” Diao said. “From a purely mathematical point of view, our research does not produce very deep theorems. However, we are making progress in understanding the kDNA and our work can have a significant impact.”

Words: Lynn Roberson | Image: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Mae Melvin

On this episode of The Live Wire, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens Director Jeff Gillman shares insights into all that the Botanical Gardens has to offer and what’s ahead for this community treasure.

In a significant botanical accomplishment, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens staff have successfully pollinated a Titan Arum, using pollen from another Titan Arum at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens.

“The pollination of the Titan Arum is very significant for UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens,” said Paula Gross, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens assistant director. “We were the first to bloom this rare plant in the Carolinas, and now we are the first in North America to have achieved pollination with fresh, or unfrozen, pollen.”

This is the second Titan Arum to bloom at the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, with the first plant – named Bella – blooming in 2007 and 2010. The second plant was named Odoardo or “Odie” in honor of Italian naturalist Odoardo Beccari, who discovered the Titan Arum in Sumatra in 1878.

Titan Arums need pollen from a second plant to reproduce. On their native Indonesian island of Sumatra, carrion beetles move pollen from one plant to another, attracted by the plant’s stench as the bloom opens. In captivity, however, Titan Arums are few and far between. Not only are there no carrion beetles to carry pollen, there usually is no second bloom to receive the pollen.

The blooming of two of these tropical giants within five days and 30 miles of each other offered an unusual opportunity to attempt pollination.

UNC Charlotte’s Titan Arum bloomed on July 17, unfurling its massive bloom throughout the evening and filling the greenhouse with its characteristic odor of dead animal mixed with burnt sugar. As midnight approached and plant enthusiasts watched via a live camera feed, greenhouse manager John Denti attempted pollination.

Earlier in the week, Denti and other UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens staff had collected pollen from the bloom at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont, with the permission of staff there.

On August 5, greenhouse staff determined that Denti’s pollination was successful, based on the persistence and growth of the flowering stalk and the swelling and coloring of ovaries. Now, greenhouse staff are waiting, as it can take up to six months for the berries – each containing two to three seeds – to ripen. If ripe seeds are produced, Odie will die off. However, once those seeds are available, the staff will plant and germinate them, with hopes of blooms in eight to 12 years.

“To have a Titan Arum bloom at all is a testament to the expertise of our greenhouse gardeners,”Gross said. “To have gone further by achieving successful pollination represents an opportunity for the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens to contribute globally to the propagation of this rare plant.”

Words: Brittany Algiere | Images: Lynn Roberson

In a significant contribution to research, teaching and engagement at UNC Charlotte, faculty in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences in 2015 published 30 scholarly and creative books that represented subjects as diverse as the College itself.

Most of the books are intended primarily for classroom use or as resources for further research, while several of the books are intended for general audiences.

Faculty published books containing collections of essays and research findings on a variety of topics including bioethics and biopolitics, the science of meetings, religion in a post-sacred society, second language learning, Spanish for the professions, medieval romance, and reading and teaching early modern English texts.

Other books faculty wrote or edited included:

• Textbooks covering global gender studies, scattered field imaging, understanding psychology, and French language films.
• A collection of short stories focused on home, set in urban and rural Arizona.
• A poetry collection.
• A study of pop music, feminism and neoliberalism.
• A narrative on the cultural elements and theoretical foundations of human evolution.
• A book about the importance of recycling to the British war effort during World War II.
• Two books about India, with one examining how railways shaped colonial India and the second considering imperialism in New Delhi in the early 20th century.
• A publication addressing Walt Disney’s literary inspirations.
• A co-edited book on desegregation and resegregation in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.
• A co-edited publication covering spatial analysis in health geography.

Faculty in the Department of English had six books on the list, while the Departments of History and Philosophy had five books each. The Departments of Religious Studies and Languages & Culture Studies each had three books and the Departments of Psychology and Sociology had two books each.

Additionally, 90 CLAS faculty participated as a Principal Investigator or Co-PI on one or more research awards received by the College in Fiscal Year 2015. CLAS grant awards of over $10.5 million accounted for over 20 percent of the total external award funding received by the University in FY 2015. Awards were received from 73 different external sponsors. National Science Foundation remains the College’s leading funder with 14 awards, with the U.S. Department of Defense agencies second with 12 awards, and the National Institutes of Health third with nine awards.

The College hosted a reception honoring the faculty in December 2015.

UNC Charlotte’s Master of Science in Mathematical Finance program has been ranked No. 20 in the nation in the 2016 Master of Financial Engineering Program Rankings.

This is the third national ranking for the Mathematical Finance program, marking an improvement from last year’s ranking at No. 25. The rankings by The Financial Engineer are calculated based on a series of factors, including average GRE scores, starting salaries and bonuses, undergraduate GPA, acceptance rates, and the number of employed graduates.

UNC Charlotte’s Mathematical Finance program was developed in collaboration between the Departments of Finance and Economics in the Belk College of Business and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Located in the second largest financial center in the U.S., the program is designed to prepare students with the quantitative skills to pursue careers in finance.

“The Mathematical Finance program continues to earn recognition as an outstanding program that is competitive at the national level,” said Yuanan Diao, chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. “Students learn from faculty in the three departments and also benefit from strong partnerships with leading companies and alumni in the region.”

The program is designed to prepare students to pursue careers in finance. Increasingly, financial institutions, investment banks, and commodities firms rely upon highly sophisticated mathematical models to identify, measure, and manage risk. These models require professionals with extensive skills in both finance and mathematics. Students take courses from all three departments in an integrated curriculum and may use electives to tailor the program to their specific interests.

The Financial Engineer publishes the most comprehensive rankings for financial engineering, financial mathematics, quantitative finance, computational finance, and mathematical finance graduate programs in the United States.

UNC Charlotte’s Master of Science in Mathematical Finance program ranked No. 24 in the QuantNet 2015 Rankings of Best Financial Engineering Program.

This is the second national ranking for the Mathematical Finance program, which currently enrolls more than 100 students.  The rankings are calculated based on a series of factors, including placement success, student selectivity, an employer survey score, as well as as a peer assessment score.

Located in the second largest financial center in the U.S., UNC Charlotte’s Mathematical Finance program is a joint program of the Departments of Finance and Economics in the Belk College of Business and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

The 2015 QuantNet ranking is the most comprehensive ranking to date of master programs in Financial Engineering (MFE), Mathematical Finance in North America. With 30 programs selected for the 2015 rankings, QuantNet surveyed program administrators, hiring managers and quantitative finance professionals from financial institutions around the world for statistics reflecting student selectivity and graduate employment.

The Master of Science in Mathematical Finance program is designed to prepare students to pursue careers in finance. Increasingly, financial institutions, investment banks, and commodities firms rely upon highly sophisticated mathematical models to identify, measure, and manage risk. These models require professionals with extensive skills in both finance and mathematics.

Students take courses from all three departments in an integrated curriculum and may use electives to tailor the program to their specific interests.

The two colleges began collaborating on the program in 2003. Together, the two colleges have designed this program to develop a highly specialized focus in response to the increasingly complex financial series industry. Industry leaders have been actively involved in ensuring that the curriculum provides students with the essential knowledge needed to success in the fast-paced financial arena.

Dust motes drift in a shaft of sunshine, tumbling through the air in a seemingly aimless way. Yet, these apparently insignificant specks hold fundamental meaning for UNC Charlotte optical scientist Michael Fiddy.

Fiddy conducts complex research in super-resolution imaging – or optical imaging beyond the diffraction limit of light, and in metamaterial design – or the precise design of composite materials with properties not found in nature.  

Even a small speck of dust might be composed of different materials and have a shape that makes it an interesting resonant scattering object over some part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Resonant electromagnetic responses are the key to engineering new materials with unusual optical properties. As Fiddy works to advance these revolutionary fields, he finds himself reconnecting with the basics.

 “I can’t look at a speck of dust without thinking about it being an electrical circuit,” says Fiddy, a professor of physics and optical science and of electrical and mechanical engineering. 

“It’s a resonant circuit at some frequency, as even a speck of dust will have some distinct electromagnetic scattering properties,” he says. “Now, how do I shape and organize properties like these to make better or fundamentally new materials that I need for next generation applications? More importantly, how to I design and fabricate these small structures to have exactly the properties I want?”

The engineered metamaterials with which Fiddy works show extraordinary optical or acoustical properties, including negative index of refraction, ability to harvesting  or trap light, reciprocal properties and anomalous transmission. 

 “There’s a pretty large cohort of scientists globally now in this space recognizing that by digging a bit deeper into the fundamentals, we can understand light-matter interactions more profoundly and in a more useful way that will enable us to design new generations of man-made materials for future technology development that will have a major impact,” Fiddy says.

Fiddy’s research at UNC Charlotte initially centered on the imaging side, aligned with his service as the founding director of UNC Charlotte’s Center for Optoelectronics and Optical Communications from 2002 to 2010. 

He and colleagues developed algorithms they found had implications for metamaterial research. “One of the projects we focused a lot of attention on was developing new materials to help you image things with higher resolution, such as a superlens that allows imaging with greater precision,” he says. “That’s what led to me getting involved in these artificial or engineered materials.”

The ongoing theme of most of the work now centers on understanding how to better code information onto light waves and then decode it using these engineered materials, to see objects or transform how they appear, he says.

“We’ve worked on modeling how microwaves or light interact with structures to try to determine what those structures are,” he says. “Some of the work has led to us realizing that if we can make measurements from some object that let us figure out what that object was, then we can design objects that lead to certain scattering  measurements, that lead to certain observations that we want.”

As they engineer the materials, the researchers determine how the material behaves when they illuminate it. They use that data to refine the engineering design process to further modify the material’s properties.

“We’re continually going through this loop of modeling how light interacts with and propagates through engineered structures and then figuring out from how it responds and how to engineer or make something better that does what I want it to more effectively,” Fiddy says.

With the metamaterial design process, scientists can create artificial materials that at optical frequencies rather than lower frequency microwaves necessarily includes engineering structures with features on the nanoscale.

Fiddy received $542,662 in funding from the DOD DA Army Research Office for a Nanoscribe 3D printer for the fabrication of nano structures, especially those designed as metamaterials for use in the Infrared range. This fabrication tool will assist with developing inverse methods for improved metamaterial designs and will also be used to experiment with low refractive index polymers as the printing medium.

In his four decades of research, Fiddy has published two books, 14 book chapters, over 150 articles and 360 conference papers.  He has been editor-in-chief of the journal Waves in Random and Complex Media since Jan 1996 (Taylor and Francis Publisher).  He is a Fellow of the OSA, IOP and SPIE and Deputy Editor of OSA’s Photonics Research Journal, and is on the OSA’s Board of Directors. He also has been awarded millions in research dollars.

As his research interests broadened, Fiddy stepped down as director of the Center for Optoelectronics and Optical Communications and in 2011 became the founding site director for the National Science Foundation-funded Industry/University Center for Metamaterials. This center also includes Clarkson University and industry and government partners who work together on projects of common interest.

The center, and Fiddy’s lab, involve a range of students in the work. He also brings insights from his research into the classroom. 

“Professor Fiddy’s work is a synthesis of advanced theoretical concepts and practical fabrication of three-dimensional structures and represents the cutting edge of the field of metamaterials,” says Glenn Boreman, chair of the Department of Physics and Optical Science. “A very significant aspect of his research is that it energizes his classroom teaching, continually bringing in fresh examples to motivate and illustrate the concepts presented.”

While Fiddy sees that some people feel unsettled by the creation of materials that do not occur in the natural world, he feels no such discomfort.

“We are at a point where we certainly are going to continue to develop increasingly impressive technology,” he says. “We’re going to be able to do more and more.  For example, if I want a kind of Star Trek handheld viewer that I can wave over me, and that allows me to see inside my body, I can imagine a way to do that with these wave imaging algorithms and these new materials.”

“We are rethinking the most basic concepts and the most fundamental concepts we learned as students. By revisiting them and understanding them in a more profound way, we gain new insights.” he says. “When you get down into this region of light-matter interactions with features that are at the nanoscale, there is a lot we don’t yet understand. It’s very exciting.”

NOTE: This story first appeared in the print edition of the College’s magazine Exchange in 2015.

Words and Images: Lynn Roberson | Top Image: Michael Fiddy creates metamaterials, which do not occur in the natural world.