Our Research
Our lab focuses on topological and nanoscale engineering of chiral materials to manipulate light and heat at the atomic and nano interfaces. By designing asymmetrical photonic structures and thermally responsive architectures, we explore how chirality, spin–orbit interactions, and symmetry breaking govern optical and thermal phenomena. This work bridges chemistry, quantum photonics, and thermal transport, enabling advanced control over electron, photon and phonon spin/orbital momentum, and correlated light and thermal emission. The insights gained pave the way for next-generation chiral quantum emitters, thermoradiative devices, and light-driven material systems.
1. Quantum-Informed Interface and Nanocavity Engineering
Chirality and topology provide powerful design principles for engineering matter and light–matter interactions across atomic to microscopic scales. By integrating chiral materials, topological interfaces, and architected nanocavities, we seek to manipulate electronic, photonic, and phononic degrees of freedom, including spin, orbital angular momentum, and collective excitations. These advances open new frontiers in quantum nanophotonics, sustainable chemistry, and advanced imaging.
Our research addresses three fundamental questions:
I. Chirality and Topology in Condensed Matter: How do chirality and topology govern emergent electronic, photonic, and phononic properties and their interactions?
II. Quantum Design for Sustainable Chemistry: How can quantum states, spin polarization, and interfacial interactions be harnessed to control chemical reaction pathways and selectivity?
III. Programmable Quantum Light–Matter Interactions: How can continuous chirality and structural complexity reshape optical selection rules, collective excitations, and quantum photonic functionalities?
2. Printing Atom with Programmable Asymmetry
Our laboratory develops benchtop two-photon polymerization (2PP) platforms to fabricate chiral and inversion-symmetry-broken micro- and nanostructures, creating tailored electromagnetic, thermal, and chemical environments. By integrating these architectures with functional materials and device platforms, we seek to manipulate local fields, interfacial electronic states, and optical selection rules, bridging structural chirality with programmable quantum functionalities and integrated photonic devices.
Our research addresses three interconnected challenges:
I. Encoding Optical Information into Matter: How can the spatial, temporal, and polarization degrees of freedom of light be translated into programmable structural symmetry, chirality, and emergent material functionalities?
II. Next-Generation Ultrafast Manufacturing: How can advanced laser printing, inverse design, and AI-driven automation enable high-resolution, high-throughput, and scalable fabrication of complex three-dimensional architectures across multiple length scales?
III. Integrated Photonic and Quantum Devices: How can ultrafast-printed architectures be integrated with functional materials and semiconductor platforms to realize programmable light emitters, optical interconnects, and quantum photonic devices?
3. Topological Thermal Engineering
While topology and chirality have emerged as powerful principles for controlling quantum states of light, their potential for engineering thermal energy and radiation remains comparatively unexplored. Traditionally, thermal transport and emission have been described through statistical and thermodynamic frameworks, with limited control over their spatial, spectral, and polarization characteristics. By integrating structural chirality, topological photonics, and non-Hermitian physics, our laboratory seeks to uncover new mechanisms for controlling thermal excitations, radiative heat transfer, and structured thermal emission.
Our research addresses two scitific and technique questions:
I. Topology and Chirality in Thermal Physics: How can structural chirality, topology, and collective excitations reshape thermal radiation, near-field energy transfer, and the coherence and polarization of thermally emitted light?
II. Programmable Thermal Photonics: How can architected nanostructures, metasurfaces, and non-Hermitian photonic systems enable programmable control of thermal emission, radiative heat flow, and thermal energy conversion?
4. AI-Driven Discovery of Chiral Matter and Advanced Manufacturing
Artificial intelligence is opening new opportunities to understand and engineer chirality across molecular, atomic, and mesoscale dimensions. By integrating machine learning, physics-informed modeling, and autonomous experimentation, our laboratory seeks to accelerate the discovery of chiral ligands, programmable material architectures, and their emergent physical functionalities. We further develop AI-guided advanced manufacturing platforms to translate molecular and structural design into functional materials with controlled symmetry, complexity, and precision.
Our research addresses two interconnected challenges:
I. AI-Driven Chiral Ligand and Materials Discovery: How can AI uncover molecular structure–chirality–function relationships and guide the design of chiral ligands and interfaces with programmable electronic, spin, and optical properties?
II. AI-Enabled Advanced Manufacturing: How can AI-driven inverse design, ultrafast laser printing, and autonomous experimentation enable precision fabrication of complex three-dimensional architectures with programmable chirality and functionality across multiple length scales?
