Nanophotonics, Quantum Photonics, and Vision/Biomedical Optics REU program at University of Rochester aims to create a well-defined pipeline to a career in photonics for REU participants. The program is run by the University’s Institute of Optics and coordinated by the University’s David T. Kearns Center.
Help Discover the Next Innovations in Optics
Be a part of the frontiers of photonics research in nanoscience, vision science, bioscience, and quantum science! During this nine-week program, REU students live and learn with 60-70 other undergraduate researchers, while they:
Conduct 300 hours of research with one or more of the University’s premier faculty members
Attend several seminars and workshops discussing in-depth research techniques, finding solutions to complex problems, and prep career
Create academic presentations and present a final poster at the end of the summer
Mentoring
Each REU research cohort (nano, bio, and quantum, and vision/biomedicine) will meet regularly with a dedicated graduate student mentor assigned to their area to discuss the broader picture. Students will also have a chance to foster relationships with faculty and other graduate students as they work closely together in their assigned research.
REU students also get the chance to at as mentors themselves as they assist the optics department in their a one-week summer program hosted for local high school students.
2025 Photonics REU Program Information
The 2025 Photonics REU program will run from May 27 to August 2, 2025. Accepted students will receive a $6,000 research stipend and paid on-campus housing.
Students should review the eligibility and application requirements before applying to the program. Last year we were able to accommodate students whose semesters ended in early June; please contact us ahead of time if this applies to you.
Research
All REU students will have the opportunity to gain meaningful research experience in one of the institute’s laboratories. Our team of experienced faculty researchers have already sponsored more than 110 undergraduate researchers in the past 5 years, resulting in over 20 papers.
AI for Nano-Photonics: quantum photonics, quantum sensing, biosensing and neurophotonics
Our research uses artificial intelligence (AI) to advance simulation and design in integrated nanophotonics. We aim to harness AI-driven techniques to enhance modeling accuracy and efficiency for photonic structures. Using these methods, we explore novel architectures for single-photon emitters, optomechanical quantum sensors, biosensors, and photonic interaction with living neurons.
REU students will integrate AI with simulation tools to unlock new possibilities for high precision, functionality, and performance for photonic devices, meeting the demands of cutting-edge quantum and classical photonics applications. The devices can be fabricated and tested, so experimental work in the laboratory is also available.
Biomedical optics for osteoporosis sensing and bruise detection
1) X-rays scans are surprisingly bad at determining whether a particular bone is prone to fracture. Our group works on providing complementary chemical information about bones using optical spectroscopy.
In this project, near-infrared light diffuses through overlying skin and muscle, scatters off of the bone, and diffuses back to the surface where it is collected. Some of the scattered light comes back at longer wavelengths that encode information about the bone’s mineral and protein composition, a technique called Raman spectroscopy.
The REU student will help to extend this methodology, proven on living mice, to human hand cadaver specimens and live human subjects. Both studies are ongoing. This will involve experimental measurements, data analysis, and system development for a new cart-based system.
2) The darker a person’s skin is, the harder it is to detect a bruise under natural (visible) light conditions. Our group works on expanding the range of excitation wavelengths to include ultraviolet and infrared, in the hope of improving bruise detection for people with dark skin. The broad goal of this project is to improve equity in medical and legal support among survivors of interpersonal violence (IPV).
The REU student will assist in developing hardware and software for a handheld, low-cost camera system for capturing raw images and combining them to increase bruise contrast for people of all skin colors.
Customizing Light-Sound Interactions for Photonics, Quantum Computing and Astronomy
Brillouin scattering, one of the strongest nonlinear optical effects, leverages the coherent interaction between light with sound to enable technological advances for sensing, microwave processing, and high coherence source generation.
Recent discoveries in this field, including long-lived phonons at low temperatures and lower frequency phonons in acoustic waveguides have enabled new opportunities for applications. However, applications including high-speed photonic networking, quantum computing, and dark matter detection require greatly improved versatility for these interactions.
The REU student will help explore and apply novel optomechanical interactions across new frequency regimes. This research includes both theoretical and experimental investigations.
Multifocal lenses, working under the principle of simultaneous vision, are increasingly used solutions for control of myopia progression (in young myopes) and for correction of presbyopia (in older adults that have lost the ability to accommodate).
During the project, new multifocal phase patterns aiming at those applications will be defined and transferred to intraocular/contact lens designs. Vision through these corrections will be simulated in adaptive optics and simultaneous vision simulators.
This project aims to advance our understanding of eye movements and human vision. We have developed, built and performed early testing of a high-precision eye-tracking system that can capture miniature eye movements (microsaccades) while being able to track large eye rotations (up to 20 degrees).
We are currently working on investigating the optimal geometry for the eye-tracking system, as well as developing an algorithm that will enable real-time eye-tracking. The project will involve learning the overall eye-tracking system, how to modify the system’s architecture to test new system geometries, as well as conducting analysis of eye-tracker data acquired during the experiments using different tracking algorithms.
Finally, the student will be exposed to different methods of eye tracking investigated to connect eye motion to cognitive tasks. This project involves a strong collaboration with the faculty in optics and brain and cognitive science at the University of Rochester.
Do optics on the tip a needle. Undergraduate students will work on projects that push the state of the art in integrated photonic devices for communications, sensing, and quantum. They will be immersed in a diverse group with PhD and MS students.
REU students will participate in projects related to generating and manipulating photonic quantum states on chip-scale devices, aiming for intensive training on integrated photonic circuits, quantum photonic technology, and quantum information science in general.
Novel and Accessible Femtosecond Lasers for Bioimaging
Scattering of biological tissue makes deep imaging impossible for traditional fluorescence microscopy. Nonlinear optical microscopy overcomes this limitation because nonlinearly generated photons from a focus can be readily assigned to their origin.
Nonlinear imaging is a crucial tool needed for a comprehensive understanding of the human brain, for example. However, current optical sources needed for this advanced technology are limited and expensive.
The REU student will help design robust and high-performance ultrashort pulsed optical sources designed for advanced biomedical technologies. These systems involve complex nonlinear optical dynamics, and the research will include both theoretical and experimental investigations.
One potential REU research project in the Miller group will center on characterizing photonic biosensors (silicon nitride ring resonators) with on-chip integrated spectrometers. Students will learn how to assemble microfluidic channels, determine bulk refractive index sensitivity of devices with sensors operating under flow, and compare observed device performance to expectations based on modeling and manufacturing variability.
Silicon based photonic integrated circuits are now being designed and fabricated at a number of foundries around the country, including AIM Photonics. However the accurate characterization of the polarization state of light within the waveguide using external testing is still an unsolved problem.
The REU scholar in this project will work toward camera-based methods of characterizing the light scattered from engineered nanoscale scatterers fabricated within the AIM process.
This project focuses on developing new nanothermometry techniques based on single-nanoparticle or super-resolution imaging and spectroscopy of luminescent nanomaterials. These non-invasive techniques have applications in areas such as diagnosing thermal failure mechanisms in operating devices, improving the energy efficiency and sustainability of catalysis processes, and optimizing the performance of new energy storage or carbon capture materials.
Specific tasks may include:
Performing optical imaging and spectroscopy measurements
Developing Python-based hardware control or data acquisition code
Using finite element or numerical modeling to inform the design of nanothermometry test structures
High-power lasers are commonly employed with the specific goal of modifying, often damaging, materials. We study laser-induced damage as a function of a broad parameter space including, but not limited to, pulse length, fluence (energy/area), repetition rate and environmental conditions.
The REU scholar will analyze laser damaged samples and look for trends and mechanisms of damage. The student will use diagnostic instruments such as: a Raman spectrometer, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy dispersive x-ray (EDAX) capabilities, a structured-light 3D optical scanner and conventional microscopy.
Faculty Researcher: Tanya Kosc
Quantum Light Matter Interfaces
A quantum light matter interface (QLMI) is highly desirable for applications in quantum information science. This REU project will focus on characterizing the optical properties of novel defect-based QLMIs.
Our group has discovered and demonstrated that defects in solid-state materials hold much promise for QLMIs. In parallel to doing spectroscopy of solid-state material defects, the student will pursue approaches to tailor the radiative dynamics of the QLMI by sculpting the local optical density of states via proximal nanophotonic structures. These devices can be both passive and active engendering a great deal of control and functionality to the QLMI.
My research group is involved in both fundamental and applied studies of nonlinear optics and quantum-optical information science. Topic of current investigation in my group include:
Quantum imaging: We seek to develop methods to form images with finer resolution or enhanced contrast by making use of the quantum properties of the light field.
Propagation of structured laser beams through complex and nonlinear optical media. A specific goal is to prevent the unwanted collapse of laser beams due to the self-focusing process.
Development of nonlinear optical switches and other photonic devices based on the use of the extremely large nonlinear response afforded by “epsilon-near-zero” materials.
Development of means for secure communication based on quantum strategies such as quantum key distribution.
The above list is meant to be a starting point for discussion. In my group, students select their own research projects. During the first week of the REU term, students will meet with me and with my help will select a specific project for investigation.
To be eligible, an applicant must meet all the following criteria:
Be a US citizen or permanent resident
Be majoring in the physical sciences or engineering with at least one semester left to complete the undergraduate degree
Participants are selected based upon academic achievement and scientific interests. This project places emphasis on recruiting low-income and underrepresented minority students, students from community colleges, and students from four-year colleges that lack comparable summer research opportunities.
How to Apply
To submit your application, go to https://etap.nsf.gov/sso/sign-in. If you have not already done so, you first create an account through Research.gov (click the Create Account button). Once you have created your account and are able to sign in to the NSF ETAP site, you can select up to ten REU programs and apply to them using a “Common App” format. A common portion will prompt you for:
CV
Transcript
Contact information for letter writers (they will be notified automatically and will send the letters directly to the Photonics REU program)
Interest statement of up to 500 words that explains your interest in pursuing an REU in general
You will also need to answer some program-specific questions and upload a PDF specifically for the Nanophotonics, Quantum Photonics, and Vision/Biomedical Optics at University of Rochester.
Applications for the 2025 Photonics REU program open November 15, 2024. Priority review of applications will begin after February 15, 2025, but rolling submissions are welcomed after that until all slots are filled.
You can submit your application whenever it is ready; you do not have to wait for your reference letters to be sent first.
Questions
If you have questions about this Photonics REU program or about the application process, please contact Professor Andrew Berger at andrew.berger@rochester.edu. The information about how to register for the NSF ETAP program is shown above, under “How to Apply”.
For details about the general REU experience at the University of Rochester, we encourage you to visit the Research Experiences for Undergraduates page in the Kearns Center website (covering several REUs at the University) or send an email to samantha.branch@rochester.edu.
