Event Details

Nanophotonic design techniques offer new opportunities to engineer the thermal emissivity and absorptivity of thin films and devices. Here we present our recent work on the design, realization, and characterization of engineered thermal emitters and infrared absorbers. As examples of emissivity engineering, we have demonstrated the use of phase-change materials for adaptive thermal radiators high-temperature stable oxides for directional emissive control. For control over absorptivity in the infrared, we have explored lithium niobate-based metamaterials for spectral control and dynamic tuning mechanisms that use broken symmetry principles to dramatically reshape the infrared absorption spectrum.

November 7, 2025

Join Zoom Webinar

Host: Steve Crago
POC: Amy Kasmir

Speaker Bio

Dr. Michelle Lynn Povinelli is Dean's Professor and Vice Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University Southern California. She is a Fellow of Optica (formerly OSA) and the SPIE. Povinelli is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, the Army Research Office Young Investigator Award, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), and the TR35 Award for innovators under age 35 from MIT's Technology Review magazine. Her research has been funded by a variety of sources including NSF, ARO, NASA, DARPA, NGA, DOE, private companies, and foundations. She was a member of the 2018-19 class of the Defense Science Study Group. She received a BA from the University of Chicago, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD from MIT, all in Physics. She was a postdoctoral researcher in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. She has co-authored >100 journal articles, three book chapters, and three US Patents.