In physics, a plasmon is a quantum of plasma oscillation. Just as light consists of photons, the plasma oscillation consists of plasmons. The plasmon can be considered as a quasiparticle since it arises from the quantization of plasma oscillations, just like phonons are quantizations of mechanical vibrations. Thus, plasmons are collective oscillations of the free electron gas density. For example, at optical frequencies, plasmons can couple with a photon to create another quasiparticle called a plasmon polariton.
A nanoshell, or rather a nanoshell plasmon, is a type of spherical nanoparticle consisting of a dielectric core which is covered by a thin metallic shell. These nanoshells involve a quasiparticle called a plasmon which is a collective excitation or quantum plasma oscillation where the electrons simultaneously oscillate with respect to all the ions.
A nanoruler is a tool or a method used within the subfield of "nanometrology" to achieve precise control and measurements at the nanoscale. Measurements of extremely tiny proportions require more complicated procedures, such as manipulating the properties of light (plasmonic) or DNA to determine distances. At the nanoscale, materials and devices exhibit unique properties that can significantly influence their behavior. In fields like electronics, medicine, and biotechnology, where advancements come from manipulating matter at the atomic and molecular levels, nanoscale measurements become essential.
Nader Engheta is an Iranian-American scientist. He has made pioneering contributions to the fields of metamaterials, transformation optics, plasmonic optics, nanophotonics, graphene photonics, nano-materials, nanoscale optics, nano-antennas and miniaturized antennas, physics and reverse-engineering of polarization vision in nature, bio-inspired optical imaging, fractional paradigm in electrodynamics, and electromagnetics and microwaves.
Vladimir (Vlad) M. Shalaev is a Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Scientific Director for Nanophotonics at Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University.
Satoshi Kawata is a scientist based in Japan who is active in nanotechnology, photonics, plasmonics, and other areas of applied physics. He is a Professor of Department of Applied Physics at Osaka University. He is also a Chief Scientist at RIKEN. Kawata was the 2022 president of Optica.
A plasmonic-enhanced solar cell, commonly referred to simply as plasmonic solar cell, is a type of solar cell that converts light into electricity with the assistance of plasmons, but where the photovoltaic effect occurs in another material.
Multiple layered plasmonics use electronically responsive media to change and manipulate the plasmonic properties of plasmons. The properties typically being manipulated can include the directed scattering of light and light absorption. The use of these to use “changeable” plasmonics is currently undergoing development in the academic community by allowing them to have multiple sets of functions that are dependent on how they are being manipulated or excited. Under these new manipulations, such as multiple layers that respond to different resonant frequencies, their new functions were designed to accomplish multiple objectives in a single application.
Anatoly V. Zayats is a British experimental physicist of Ukrainian origin known for his work in nanophotonics, plasmonics, metamaterials and applied nanotechnology. He is currently a Chair in Experimental Physics and the head of the Photonics & Nanotechnology Group at King's College London. He is a co-director of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and the London Institute for Advanced Light Technologies
The R. W. Wood Prize is an award endowed by Xerox and given by Optica to an individual that makes an outstanding technical contribution or an invention in the field of optics. The award was established in 1975 in commemoration of Robert W. Wood.
Alexandra Boltasseva is Ron And Dotty Garvin Tonjes Distinguished Professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University, and editor-in-chief for The Optical Society's Optical Materials Express journal. Her research focuses on plasmonic metamaterials, manmade composites of metals that use surface plasmons to achieve optical properties not seen in nature.
Peter J. Nordlander is a Swedish physicist.
Jennifer (Jen) Dionne is an American scientist and pioneer of nanophotonics. She is currently senior associate vice provost of research platforms at Stanford University, a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator, and an associate professor of materials science and engineering and by courtesy, of radiology. She serves as director of the Department of Energy's "Photonics at Thermodynamic Limits" Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC), which strives to create thermodynamic engines driven by light, and she leads the "Extreme Scale Characterization" efforts of the DOE's Q-NEXT Quantum Science Center. She is also an associate editor of the ACS journal Nano Letters. Dionne's research develops optical methods to observe and control chemical and biological processes as they unfold with nanometer scale resolution, emphasizing critical challenges in global health and sustainability.
Jennifer L. West is an American bioengineer. She is the current Dean of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia. She was the Fitzpatrick University Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University from 2012-2021. In 2000, West cofounded Nanospectra Biosciences in Houston to develop a cancer therapy based on gold nanoparticles that destroy tumor cells and has been listed by MIT Technology Review as one of the 100 most innovative young scientists and engineers world wide.
Rizia Bardhan is an Indian origin American biomolecular engineer who is an Associate Professor of Chemical & Biological Engineering at Iowa State University. She is Associate Editor of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Emilie Ringe is an American chemist who is an assistant professor at the University of Cambridge. She was selected by Chemical & Engineering News as one of its "Talented Twelve" young scientists in 2021.
Paras Nath Prasad is an Indian chemist. He is the SUNY Distinguished Professor at the University at Buffalo and holds a tenured faculty appointment in the department of Chemistry. In addition, he also holds non-tenured appointments in Physics, Medicine, and Electrical Engineering at the University at Buffalo and serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics.
Michel Meunier is a professor of engineering physics and biomedical engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, a position has he held since 1986. He was recently the acting director of the Department of Engineering Physics from 2019 to 2020. He is the director of the Laser Processing and Plasmonics Laboratory (LP2L), which he founded in 1988, whose mission is to develop diagnostic and therapeutic technologies based on plasmonics and the optical properties of colloidal nanoparticles.
Kimani Christopher Toussaint, Jr. is an American engineer who is a professor and senior associate dean in the School of Engineering at Brown University. His research considers the development of quantitative nonlinear optical imaging methods and advanced optical techniques for nanotechnology, and the characterization of plasmonic nanostructure. He is a Fellow of Optica.
Rebekah Anna Drezek is an American bioengineer and Professor of Bioengineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University. Her research uses optical molecular imaging for in vivo assessment of biological tissue. She is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and was awarded the 2009 Optica Adolph Lomb Medal.
