I am a physicist with more than 40 years of experience spanning academia and industry, specializing in optics, photonics, and materials science. Throughout my career, I have integrated fundamental research, advanced technology development, and product commercialization.

I have made significant contributions to integrated optics, nanophotonics, optical fiber amplifiers, fiber lasers, optical sensing, and thin-film technologies. I pioneered broadband and polarization-resolved spectroscopy of biomolecular assemblies using single-mode integrated optical waveguides and developed novel spectroelectrochemical techniques based on electroactive waveguide platforms. In addition, I introduced innovative biosensing strategies that combine electroactive optical waveguides with surface plasmon waves for highly sensitive and selective molecular detection.

I have extensive experience in optical thin-film technologies. Earlier in my career, I led an optics division responsible for the development and manufacturing of precision optical coatings for both large-scale production and research applications. I also served as Director of NP Photonics, a startup company dedicated to the development and manufacturing of advanced fiber optical amplifiers and fiber lasers.

Over the course of my career, I have authored more than 140 peer-reviewed publications, contributed to four book chapters, and hold five issued U.S. patents. My work has received international recognition, and I have collaborated widely and presented research throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America.

At the University of Louisville, I lead a multidisciplinary research group focused on developing innovative photonic technologies for biological and chemical sensing. My group introduced a diagnostic platform based on spectroelectrochemical modulation of redox-active biomolecular processes, interrogated through surface-propagating optical waves. This approach enables highly sensitive, label-free detection and quantification of viral antigens and biomarkers in complex biological fluids, including blood and ocular samples. Initially demonstrated for avian influenza detection and later validated in clinical settings, this work was recognized in the 2017 global breakthrough issue of Optics & Photonics News, published by Optica (formerly OSA).

In recent years, my research has centered on integrated optics and plasmonic nanostructures for spectroscopic investigations of biomolecular films and interfacial phenomena. Building on foundational work initiated during my collaboration at the University of Arizona and continuing at the University of Louisville, I have developed single-mode, electroactive integrated optical waveguides for interrogating ultrathin films and biomolecular interfaces. These chemically and biologically functionalizable platforms provide real-time, selective, and highly sensitive biosensing capabilities, including early pathogen detection during the seronegative window period.

In addition to my research and leadership roles, I have served the scientific community as an Associate Editor for the Optical Society of America (now Optica) and as an organizer of major international symposia, including the Pacifichem Congress in 2015 and 2020. I have mentored six postdoctoral researchers, eight Ph.D. students, and numerous M.S. and undergraduate students. In 2011, I received the Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville