Research

Topological insulators and semimetals are fascinating classes of materials that have emerged as a central focus in condensed matter physics. They represent distinct phases of matter exhibit unique boundary states whose properties differ fundamentally from those of the bulk. These features arise from the nontrivial topology of the electronic wavefunctions, rather than from specific material details. Moreover, in systems with strong quasiparticle interactions, topological phases can give rise to even more exotic phenomena, such as fractionalization and topological order. Over the past decade, concepts from topological matter have been extended to other systems supporting wave-like excitations, such as light propagating in photonic crystals, where they provide powerful guiding principles for device design.

These are some key questions that inform my research:
- What novel phases of matter arise from the interplay of symmetry, geometry, and topology?
- How can we apply topological principles to robustly control noise and excitations in quantum systems?


References:
[1] Noise Immunity in Quantum Optical Systems through Non-Hermitian Topology, arXiv:2503.11620 (2025)
[2] Quantized Crystalline-Electromagnetic Responses in Insulators, Physical Review Letters (2025)
[3] Weyl Points on Non-Orientable Manifolds, Physical Review Letters (2024)
[4] Polarization and Weak Topology in Chern Insulators, Physical Review Letters (2024)
[5] Observation of a Charge-2 Photonic Weyl Point in the Infrared, Physical Review Letters (2020)

The field of nanophotonics focuses on the manipulation and control of light at the nanometer scale. The unique properties of light-matter interactions at these scales arise from the confinement of photons to dimensions comparable to the wavelength of light. This leads to phenomena such as enhanced optical transport, strong light-matter coupling, and the ability to manipulate light in ways that are impossible with traditional optical components. This precise control makes it possible to leverage phenomena such as the Purcell effect to enhance or suppress spontaneous emission rates or collimation effects for guiding light perfectly.

Some key questions that inform my research:
- Can we find novel strategies for trapping and guiding light at the nanoscale?
- What new functionalities can be achieved by leveraging nanophotonics for scintillation-based imaging?

References:
[1] Three-dimensional confinement of light in photonic crystals without bandgaps, arXiv:2607.23281 (2026)
[2] Supercollimating photonic crystal scintillators, arXiv:2605.17006 (2026)
[3] Tunable Nanophotonic Devices and Cavities based on a Two-Dimensional Magnet, Nature Photonics (2025)
[4] Observation of Bound States in the Continuum Embedded in Symmetry Bandgaps, Science Advances (2021)
[5] Point-Defect-Localized Bound States in the Continuum in Photonic Crystals and Structured Fibers, Physical Review Letters (2021)

In today’s AI- and data-driven era, predictive models can achieve remarkable accuracy across a wide range of tasks, yet they often remain difficult to interpret. In physics, where progress often hinges on extracting fundamental insights from data, there is a critical need for interpretable AI frameworks designed not only to predict, but also to align with scientific objectives and enable discovery. At the same time, our ability to generate scientific hypotheses is rapidly outpacing our capacity to test them experimentally. Closing this gap will require increasingly autonomous laboratories that integrate AI with robotics to accelerate experimentation through automation and intelligent decision-making.

Some key questions that inform my research:
- How do we develop interpretable AI models that are closely aligned with scientific goals?
- What does a future that employs robotics and AI for physics experiments look like?

References:
[1] A Framework for Closed-Loop Robotic Assembly, Alignment and Self-Recovery of Precision Optical Systems, IROS (2026)
[2] AI-Driven Robotics for Optics, Science Advances (2026)
[3] Symbolic Learning of Topological Bands in Photonic Crystals, ACS Photonics (2026)
[4] Gradient-Based Search of Quantum Phases: Discovering Unconventional Fractional Chern Insulators, arXiv:2509.10438 (2025)
[5] KAN: Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks, ICLR (2025)