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  • Optical tweezers, a Nobel Prize-winning invention by Arthur Ashkin, have revolutionized the manipulation and study of biological systems. Building upon this foundational technology, we have developed a suite of advanced optical manipulation techniques that overcome the limitations of traditional methods. Our innovations offer enhanced operational modes, greater versatility across diverse environments, and the ability to manipulate a wider range of materials with lower optical power and a simpler, user-friendly setup. These advancements drive breakthroughs in measurement, manufacturing, active matter, and micro/nanorobotic systems, with applications spanning life sciences, quantum science, health, information technology, energy, and environmental sustainability.

  • We leverage dual-faceted optical manipulation - manipulation by light and manipulation of light - in spectroscopy and microscopy to reveal biological structures and functions with high sensitivity, resolution, and speed. Standard optical microscopy, enhanced with optical rotation and machine learning, enables volumetric imaging and accurate classification of organisms. An adhesion frequency assay utilizing optical manipulation offers comprehensive profiling of cell-cell interactions. Chiroptical spectroscopy, combined with optical manipulation, allows for label-free ultrasensitive enantiodiscrimination of chiral molecules. These advancements push the boundaries of optical measurement, opening new avenues for life sciences, space life detection, pharmaceutical quality control, and disease diagnosis.

  • When discrete nanostructures are arranged into nano-architected materials such as metamaterials, they exhibit a plethora of novel optical phenomena, enabling unprecedented manipulation and utilization of light. We focus on creating these nano-architected materials to improve optical sensing, photochemical reactions, solar energy conversion, passive radiative cooling, optical computing, and quantum communication. Drawing inspiration from nature and employing machine learning techniques, we design nano-architected materials precisely customized for targeted applications. We develop advanced optical techniques to enable green manufacturing of these nano-architectures on demand and to measure their properties at both the single-nanostructure and ensemble levels.

About

Our research is at the forefront of optics and photonics, where we innovate optical manipulation and measurement to transform scientific research and tackle pressing global challenges. We aim to

  • push the boundaries of knowledge in light-matter interactions at the nanoscale;
  • develop cutting-edge optical manipulation and measurement technologies that leverage artificial intelligence and bioinspiration; and
  • apply these technologies, along with the novel materials, devices and systems they enable, across diverse fields.

 Group Leader:

 Yuebing Zheng
 Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering
 Materials Science and Engineering Program
 Texas Materials Institute
 The University of Texas at Austin
 Austin, TX 78712, United States
 Phone: 1 (512) 471-0228
 Email: zheng@austin.utexas.edu

 Other affiliations:
 Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
 Department of Biomedical Engineering
 Center for Electrochemistry
 Center for Planetary Systems Habitability

Recent Publications

Featured Publications

Optically Transforming Waste to Treasure [Nat. Commun. 2024]

Bioinspired Swarms of Optical Robots [Sci. Adv. 2024]

Book: Nanophotonics and Machine Learning [Springer 2023]

Optical Nanomotors on Solid Substrates [ACS Nano 2022]

Opto-Refrigerative Tweezers [Science Advances 2021]

Opto-Thermoelectric Nanotweezers [Nature Photonics 2018]

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