Naomi J. Halas is the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Professor of

biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

. She is also the founding director of

Laboratory for Nanophotonics, and the Smalley-Curl Institute. She invented the first

nanoparticle A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is usually defined as a particle of matter that is between 1 and 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 1 ...

with tunable

plasmonic In physics, a plasmon is a quantum of plasma oscillation. Just as light (an optical oscillation) consists of photons, the plasma oscillation consists of plasmons. The plasmon can be considered as a quasiparticle since it arises from the quantiz ...

resonances, which are controlled by their shape and structure, and has won numerous awards for her pioneering work in the field of

nanophotonics Nanophotonics or nano-optics is the study of the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, and of the interaction of nanometer-scale objects with light. It is a branch of optics, optical engineering, electrical engineering, and nanotechnology. It ...

and

plasmonics Plasmonics or nanoplasmonics refers to the generation, detection, and manipulation of signals at optical frequencies along metal-dielectric interfaces in the nanometer scale. Inspired by photonics, plasmonics follows the trend of miniaturizing opt ...

. She was also part of a team that developed the first dark pulse

soliton In mathematics and physics, a soliton or solitary wave is a self-reinforcing wave packet that maintains its shape while it propagates at a constant velocity. Solitons are caused by a cancellation of nonlinear and dispersive effects in the medium ...

in 1987 while working for IBM. She is a Fellow of nine professional societies, including the

Optical Society of America Optica (formerly known as The Optical Society (OSA) and before that as the Optical Society of America) is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals and organizes conference ...

, the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

, the

International Society for Optical Engineering SPIE (formerly the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, later the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) is an international not-for-profit professional society for optics and photonics technology, founded in 1955. It ...

(SPIE), the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

(IEEE), and the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

. Halas was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

in 2014 for nanoscale engineering of optical resonances and lineshapes. Her current research at

focuses on studying light-matter interaction in plasmonic nanoparticles for applications in chemical sensing,

biomedical sciences Biomedical sciences are a set of sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. Such disciplines as medical microbio ...

catalysis Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

, and

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

Education

Halas received her bachelor's degree from

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History La ...

in 1980. She obtained her master's degree from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

in 1984 and her doctorate from Bryn Mawr in 1987. She was a graduate research fellow at the IBM Thomas J Watson Research Center during her doctoral studies, during which time she developed the first "dark pulse"

with Dieter Kroekel, Giampiero Giuliani and Daniel Grischkowsky. A "dark pulse" soliton is a standing wave that propagates through an

optical fiber An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...

without spreading and which consists of a short interruption of a light pulse. She was also part of the first research efforts focusing on time-domain terahertz spectroscopy during her time at IBM.

Career and research

Halas was a postdoctoral research fellow at

AT&T Bell Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

before joining

in 1990, where she now heads the

Nanoengineering Nanoengineering is the practice of engineering on the nanoscale. It derives its name from the nanometre, a unit of measurement equalling one billionth of a meter. Nanoengineering is largely a synonym for nanotechnology, but emphasizes the engineer ...

research group bearing her name. She was appointed Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Chemistry in 1999, and three years later was named the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering. In 2004, she became the director of the Laboratory for

Nanophotonics Nanophotonics or nano-optics is the study of the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, and of the interaction of nanometer-scale objects with light. It is a branch of optics, optical engineering, electrical engineering, and nanotechnology. It ...

at Rice. She has also been a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Department Physics since 2006 and 2009, respectively.

Plasmonic nanoshells

Halas' work in the 21st century focuses on noble metal

nanoshell A nanoshell, or rather a nanoshell plasmon, is a type of spherical nanoparticle consisting of a dielectric core which is covered by a thin metallic shell (usually gold). These nanoshells involve a quasiparticle called a plasmon which is a col ...

s covering semiconducting or insulating cores. Her research was the first to experimentally show that nanoshells with different dimensions and shapes have different

plasmon In physics, a plasmon is a quantum of plasma oscillation. Just as light (an optical oscillation) consists of photons, the plasma oscillation consists of plasmons. The plasmon can be considered as a quasiparticle since it arises from the quantiz ...

ic resonances, and that these resonances could therefore be tuned by changing nanoparticle geometries. Controlling light-matter interaction of these

plasmonic nanoparticles Plasmonic nanoparticles are particles whose electron density can Coupling (physics), couple with electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths that are far larger than the particle due to the nature of the dielectric-metal interface between the medium a ...

includes applications in chemical sensing,

, and

energy harvesting Energy harvesting (EH, also known as power harvesting or energy scavenging or ambient power) is the process by which energy is derived from external sources (e.g., solar power, thermal energy, wind energy, salinity gradients, and kinetic energ ...

, as well as

photodynamic therapy Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a form of phototherapy involving light and a photosensitizing chemical substance, used in conjunction with molecular oxygen to elicit cell death (phototoxicity). PDT is popularly used in treating acne. It is used cl ...

and other biomedical applications. In 2003, Halas and her colleague Jennifer L. West were awarded the '' Nanotechnology Now'' Best Discovery Award for their groundbreaking work to develop a cancer therapy based on metallic nanoshells. Halas also received the Innovator Award from the

US Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

Congressionally Directed Breast Cancer Research Program, and was awarded a four-year $3 million grant to conduct further research into the treatment.

Other research

Her research also looks at how to integrate plasmonic particles with other photonic systems. The Halas groups collaborates with the Energy Frontier Research Center at the

National Renewable Energy Laboratory The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research and d ...

to study using plasmonics to improve the

properties of semiconductor quantum dots and

nanocrystals A ''nanocrystal'' is a material particle having at least one dimension smaller than 100 nanometres, based on quantum dots (a nanoparticle) and composed of atoms in either a single-crystal, single- or polycrystalline, poly-crystalline arrangement. ...

. They use surface-enhanced

Raman spectroscopy Raman spectroscopy () (named after Indian physicist C. V. Raman) is a spectroscopic technique typically used to determine vibrational modes of molecules, although rotational and other low-frequency modes of systems may also be observed. Raman sp ...

and surface-enhanced infrared absorption to develop single-molecule sensing techniques.

Awards and honors

* 2018

Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize The Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize of the American Physical Society, to remember Julius Edgar Lilienfeld, has been awarded annually, since 1989. (It was not awarded in 2002). The purpose of the Prize is to recognize outstanding contributions to phy ...

* 2017 Willis E. Lamb Award * 2017 Weizmann Women and Science Award * 2015

R. W. Wood Prize The R. W. Wood Prize is an award endowed by Xerox and given by The Optical Society to an individual that makes an outstanding technical contribution or an invention in the field of optics. The award was established in 1975 in commemoration of Robert ...

, Optical Society of America * 2014 SPIE Biophotonics Technology Innovator Award * 2014

Frank Isakson Prize The Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids is a prize that has been awarded every second year by the American Physical Society since 1980. The recipient is chosen for "''outstanding optical research that leads to breakthroughs in the co ...

for Optical Effects in Solids, American Physical Society * 2012 Doctor of Science honoris causa,

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

, Canada * 2012 Alexander M. Cruickshank Award, Gordon Research Conferences * 2010 R. E. Tressler Award, Materials Science and Engineering, Penn State University * 2007 Doctor of Science honoris causa, La Salle University * 2003 ''Nanotechnology Now Best Discovery Award'' She has been elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

(2013),

(2014),

National Academy of Inventors The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging inventors in academia, following the model of the National Academies of the United States. It was founded at the University of South Florida in 2010. ...

(2015),

(2005), and

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

(2009). She is a fellow of the

(2001), the

(2003),

SPIE SPIE (formerly the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, later the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) is an international not-for-profit professional society for optics and photonics technology, founded in 1955. It ...

(2007), the

(2008), and the

Materials Research Society The Materials Research Society (MRS) is a non-profit, professional organization for materials researchers, scientists and engineers. Established in 1973, MRS is a member-driven organization of approximately 14,000 materials researchers from academi ...

(2013).

Selected publications

* * *

References

External links

Naomi Halas Rice webpage
*

* CN
biography
an
interview
with Naomi Halas, June 2007
An SPIE video interview with Naomi Halas about metallic nanoparticles

Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans eds ''History of Science and Technology'' Houghton Mifflin, 2004. 1987 entry

Texas Nanotechnology Initiative, ''Sweating the Small Stuff: Nanotechnology and Texas' Economic Future'', 2003

- a free 10-minute video clip * {{DEFAULTSORT:Halas, Naomi Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American electrical engineers Bryn Mawr College alumni La Salle University alumni Rice University faculty Place of birth missing (living people) American women chemists American nanotechnologists Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow Members of the IEEE Fellows of the Optical Society Fellows of SPIE Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences American women engineers 21st-century American engineers Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering 20th-century American engineers Optical engineers Women in optics Optical physicists American women physicists 21st-century American physicists 21st-century women engineers Electrical engineering academics American biomedical engineers 20th-century American women American women academics 21st-century American women scientists