Hui Cao

Cao focuses on understanding and controlling light transport, scattering, absorption and amplification in complex photonic nanostructures for a wide range of applications.

Her research bridges mesoscopic physics, nonlinear dynamics, laser physics, nanophotonics and biophotonics and involves nanofabtrication, material characterization, optical measurement with high spatial, spectral and temporal resolution, and numerical modeling.

Current projects include:

1. development of novel light sources and explore their applications in biomedical imaging;
    
2. coherent control of light transport in strong scattering media and multimode fibers;
    
3. design and fabrication of multifunctional photonic devices with complex nanostructures.

• Elected Member, the National Academy of Sciences  (2021)
   
• Elected Member, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences  (2021)
   
• Rolf Landauer Medal of the International ETOPIM Association (2021)
   
• Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (2019)
   
• Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (2017)
   
• William E. Lamb Medal for Laser Physics and Quantum Optics (2015)
   
• John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (2013)
   
• American Physical Society Division of Laser Science Distinguished Traveling Lecturer (2008)
   
• Fellow of American Physical Society (2007)
   
• Fellow of Optical Society of America (2007)
   
• Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award from American Physical Society (2006)
   
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2004)
   
• Outstanding Young Researcher Award from Overseas Chinese Physics Association (2004)
   
• National Science Foundation Career Award (2001)
   
• Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (2000)
   
• David and Lucille Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering (1999)

• K. Kim et al., “Massively parallel ultrafast random bit generation with a chip-scale laser”. Science 371, 948 (2021).
   
• H. Cao et al., “Complex lasers with controllable coherence”. Nature Reviews Physics 1, 156 (2019). 
   
• H. Yılmaz et al., “Transverse localization of transmission eigenchannels”. Nature Photonics 13, 352 (2019).
   
• S. Bittner et al. “Suppressing spatio-temporal lasing instabilities with wave-chaotic microcavities”. Science 361, 1225–1231 (2018). 
   
• S. Knitter et al., "Coherence switching of a degenerate VECSEL for multimodality imaging". Optica, 3, 403 (2016).
   
• B. Redding et al., "Low spatial coherence electrically pumped semiconductor laser for speckle-free full-field imaging". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112, 1304 (2015).
   
• L. Ge, R. Sarma, and H. Cao, "Rotation-induced evolution of far-field emission patterns of deformed microdisk cavities". Optica, 2, 323 (2015).
   
• H. Cao, and J. Wiersig, "Dielectric microcavities: Model systems for wave chaos and non-Hermitian physics". Reviews of Modern Physics, 87, 61 (2015).
   
• B. Redding et al., "High-resolution and broadband all-fiber spectrometers". Optica, 1, 175 (2014).
   
• B. Redding, et al., "Compact spectrometer based on a disordered photonic chip". Nature Photonics, 7, 746 (2013).
   
• B. Redding, M. A. Choma, and H. Cao, "Speckle-free laser imaging using random laser illumination". Nature Photonics, 6, 355 (2012).
   
• W. Wan, Y. Chong, L. Ge, H. Noh, A. D. Stone, and H. Cao, "Time-Reversed Lasing and Interferometric Control of Absorption", Science, 331, 889 (2011).
   
• Hui Cao, "Lasing in Disordered Media", in "Progress in Optics", ed. E. Wolf, North-Holland, vol. 45, 317-370 (2003).

• S. Pau, H. Cao, Y. Yamamoto, “Exciton Polariton Light Emitting Diode”. US Patent No. 5,877,509 (1999).
   
• A.D. Stone, H. Cao, L. Ge and Y.D. Chong. “Controlling Absorption of Light in a Cavity”. International patent No. PCT/IB2010/001583, U.S. Patent No. 9,041,996 (2015).
   
• H. Cao, B. Redding, M. A. Choma. “Systems and Methods for Imaging Using a Random Laser”. US Patent No.10432871B2 (2019).