Research Professor

Contact Information:

E-mail: popov@purdue.edu
Group Page

Education:

B.S./M.S. - Tomsk and Novosibirsk Universities, Russia; Ph.D., Novosibirsk Research Center of Russian Academy of Sciences; upper Degree of Doctor of Science in Physics and Mathematics, Certificate of full Professor (Optics) - 1980, Institute of Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Krasnoyarsk) and Krasnoyarsk State University; postdoctoral training - Novosibirsk Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Research Interests:

Nonlinear optics in negative-index metamaterials; applications to photonics; resonant nonlinear optical coupling with free atoms, molecules and metal clusters; constructive and destructive interference at quantum transitions including Doppler broadened and discrete to bound-free quantum transitions; laser-induced nonlinear resonances and nonlinear spectroscopy; light-controlled gas kinetics and selective light-induced transport of atoms and molecules.

Research Impact Statement:

Metamaterials are artificially crafted materials, which can have properties unattainable in nature. They rely on the advances in nanotechnology to build tiny nanostructures smaller than the wavelength of light. Such mesoscopic ÒmetaatomsÓ and ÒmetamoleculesÓ may dramatically modify electromagnetic properties of materials and create seemingly impossible quantum and classical optical effects that do not occur in natural atoms, molecules and bulk solids. For example, energy flux and phase velocity of electromagnetic waves may become counter-directed, which requires revision of many fundamental concepts and leads to revolutionary breakthroughs in photonics and microwave applications. Computer simulation has now joined theory and experimentation as a third pathway to scientific knowledge. Simulation plays an increasingly critical role in all aspects of science and engineering. Current Professor PopovÕs research is centered upon nonlinear nanophotonics in prospective metamaterials and devices. Numerical modeling and simulations are used as powerful tools towards forward looking exploration in nonlinear nanophotonics.