Chia Wei (Wade) Hsu

2017 Regional Award Finalist — Post-Doc

Chia Wei (Wade) Hsu

Current Position:
Assistant Professor

Institution:
University of Southern California (Previously at Yale University)

Discipline:
Condensed Matter Physics

Recognized for: His work in controlling light in fundamental and applied optical physics

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise: Disordered photonics, Photonic crystals, Nanophotonics & plasmonics, Bound states in the continuum, Non-Hermitian physics


Chi Hsu

Biography:
PhD, Physics, Harvard University
BA, Physics and Mathematics, Wesleyan University

Dr. Hsu uses modern technologies to explore and to control the interactions between light and matter in systems of different complexities. Dr. Hsu showed that light can be confined in nanostructures without relying on reflective surfaces, as traditional methods do. This phenomenon, called ‘bound states in the continuum’, defies conventional wisdom and lays the groundwork for new light sources and optical devices. Another theme of his research is using the many spatial degrees of freedom of light to control how it interacts with complex structures. This enables light to pass through strongly scattering media that are typically opaque, like white paint and biological tissues. He showed that large-scale control is possible because of correlations that build up through the multiple scattering of waves. Dr. Hsu conducts both theoretical and experimental work, an unusual practice among physicists. The synthesis of these two approaches characterizes much of his work.

"By leveraging the interactions between light and complex systems, I aim to probe fundamental questions in physics and to develop technologies with positive impacts on the society."

Website:

https://sites.usc.edu/hsugroup/

Key Publications:

  1. Hsu CW, Liew SF, Goetschy A, Cao H, Stone AD. Correlation-enhanced control of wave focusing in disordered media. Nature Physics. 2017
  2. Hsu CW, Zhen B, Stone AD, Joannopoulos JD, Soljačić M. Bound states in the continuum. Nature Reviews Materials. *Invited Review* 2016
  3. Hsu CW, Zhen B, Qiu W, Shapira O, DeLacy BG, Joannopoulos JD, Soljačić M. Transparent displays enabled by resonant nanoparticle scattering. Nature Communications. 2014
  4. Hsu CW, Zhen B, Lee J, Chua SL, Johnson SG, Joannopoulos JD, Soljačić M. Observation of trapped light within the radiation continuum. Nature. 2013

Other Honors:

2011–2013, Ministry of Education Study Abroad Scholarship, Taiwan
2010, LeRoy Apker Award, American Physical Society
2006–2010, Freeman Scholarship, Wesleyan University

In the Media:

Transparent display could be the key to augmented reality devices. CNET. January 22, 2014
Stick-on screens open up a new vista for window projections. BBC News. January 21, 2014
A photonic crystal sets a peculiar trap. Physics Today. September, 2013
Trapping the light fantastic. Nature. July 10, 2013
Best of the best. Wesleyan Magazine. December, 2010