Postdoctoral Fellow, California Institute of Technology, 2012-2015
Ph.D., Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Physics, 2012
MPhil, City University of Hong Kong, Electronic Engineering, 2008
BSc., City University of Hong Kong, Applied Physics, 2006
Professor Howard Lee is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UC Irvine. Before joining UCI, he was an Associated Professor in the Department of Physics at Baylor University and IQSE Fellow and visiting professor in the Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering (IQSE) at TexasA&M. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Caltech, working with Prof. Harry Atwater in active plasmonics/metasurfaces. He received his PhD in Physics from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Germany in 2012 under the supervision of Prof. Philip Russell (2015 President of OSA). His current research focuses on active linear, nonlinear, and quantum plasmonic/metasurface/zero-index optics, quantum biophotonics and imaging, “meta”-fiber optics, and hybrid photonic-plasmonic on-chip optical devices. His work on nano-optics, plasmonics, and photonic crystals has led to 45 journal publications in various journals, such as Science, Nano Letters, Advanced Materials, ACS Photonics, and Laser & Photonics Reviews as well as 80 invited talks and 150 conference papers. Dr. Lee is a recipient of a 2024 SPIE Fellow, 2023 Finalist of Moore Inventor Fellow, a 2023 UCI Beall Innovation Award in Physical Sciences, a 2023 SONY Focused Research Award, a 2022 Finalist of Moore Inventor Fellow, a 2021 iCANX Young Scientist Award, 2021 Finalist of Rising Stars of Light, 2020 SPIE Rising Researcher, a 2020 Baylor Outstanding Professor Award, a 2019 DARPA Director’s Fellowship, a 2019 IEEE OGC Young Scientist Award, a 2018 NSF CAREER Award, a 2017 DARPA Young Faculty Award, a 2018 OSA Ambassador, a 2017 APS Robert S. Hyer Award, a 2018 Baylor Young Investigator Award, a 2016 Baylor Proposal Development Award, and a 2012 Croucher Postdoctoral Fellowship.
He organized more than 25 technical sessions in nanophotonics/metasurfaces in international conferences (CLEO, META, PQE, MRS) and serves as Lead Symposium Organizer for plasmonic/metasurface symposiums at 2019-2024 MRS Fall Meeting and 2020-2024 MRS Spring Meeting. He is a Founding Associate Editor for OSA Continuum and Associate Editor for Scientific Reports and Photonics journals. He is a Fellow of SPIE.
Current Research Interest:
- Active nano-optics/plasmonics/optical metasurfaces (include optoelectronic, nonlinear-optical, quantum-optical, magneto-optical effects)
- Zero-index linear and nonlinear optics and materials
- Quantum bio-photonics/imaging using nanophotonic platform
- Nanostructured optical fiber for advanced light manipulation, sensing/lasing, and spectroscopy
- Hybrid photonic-plasmonic on-chip optical nanocircuits and devices
- Extreme light-matter interaction
Awards:
2024 SPIE Fellow
2023 Finalist of Moore Inventor Fellow\
2023 SONY Focused Research Award
2023 UCI Beall Innovation Award in Physical Sciences
2023 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research, Department of Physics & Astronomy, UC Irvine
2022 Finalist of Moore Inventor Fellow
2021 iCANX Young Scientist Award
2021 Finalist of Rising Stars of Light
2020 SPIE Rising Researcher
2020 Outstanding Professor Award at Baylor University
2019 DARPA Director’s Fellowship
2019 Young Scientist Award, IEEE Optoelectronics Global Conference
2019 OSA Senior Member
2018 NSF CAREER Award
2018 OSA Ambassador
2017 APS Robert S. Hyer Award
2017 DARPA Young Faculty Award
2017 2018 Young Investigator Award, Baylor University
2015 Fellow, The Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University