SURA Presents Early Career Scientist Award
The Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) will honor Dr. Avik Dutt of the University of Maryland, College Park with the 2024 SURA Early Career Scientist Award at its upcoming Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., this July. Introduced this year by SURA, the Early Career Scientist Award recognizes a single faculty member who has made significant scholarly contributions within ten years since completing their Ph.D.
President and CEO of SURA, Dr. Sean J. Hearne, stated that “It is an honor to recognize Dr. Dutt as the first recipient of SURA’s Early Career Scientist award.” He went on to state that “Dr. Dutt’s innovative research in nanophotonics is advancing our knowledge of quantum systems and will ultimately play a role in the realization of quantum computing.”
Dr. Avik Dutt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Institute for Physical Science & Technology (IPST), and a National Quantum Lab fellow at the University of Maryland, College Park. He focuses on interdisciplinary research at the Fearless Optics, Quantum Engineering, and Technology (FloQuET) lab, and innovates using ideas from nanophotonics, quantum science, nanofabrication, and nonlinear optics. Prior to joining UMD, Dr. Dutt conducted postdoctoral research in the Ginzton Lab at Stanford University where he focused on topological photonics. While at Stanford, Dr. Dutt contributed to research on synthetic dimensions, by initiating experimental efforts in the field. Through a paper published in 2019, he introduced and demonstrated a technique to experimentally measure an important property – the band structure – for systems exhibiting synthetic dimensions, through ultrafast time-domain spectroscopy.
Dr. Dutt received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University, where his graduate research centered on on-chip quantum and nonlinear nanophotonics demonstrating silicon-based photonics as a compact, robust, and scalable platform for generating quantum states of light, particularly squeezed light, which finds use in quantum-enhanced sensing. Dr. Dutt’s paper on the topic was published in the Physical Review and has been cited over 200 times. In addition, Dr. Dutt has authored or co-authored 50 peer-reviewed publications which have been published in reputable journals such as Science, Science Advances, Nature Communications, Physical Review Letters and Optica. This includes a recent Nature Physics paper titled “Quantized Topological Energy Pumping Floquet Synthetic Dimensions with a Driven-Dissipative Photonic Molecule.”
Dr. Dutt’s accomplishments and collaborations within the academic and research community have been highlighted by reputable media outlets and make him an exemplary choice for the Early Career Scientist Award. Dr. Dutt’s work and efforts truly align with SURA’s mission of advancement of scientific capabilities, with his recent work, overcoming a major challenge to experimental quantum simulations by using photonic structures that could guide future innovations in materials engineering or molecular design.
Dr. Harry Dankowicz, chair, and professor, UMD Department of Mechanical Engineering stated that, “It’s been exciting to watch Avik launch into a rapidly accelerating high-impact career as a leading researcher and scholar in quantum physics and photonic engineering. His early-career accomplishments are uniquely creative, a striking example of daring, pace-setting research, and surely a sign of great things to come. His selection as the inaugural recipient of this award brings great pride to our department and institution.”
The Early Career Scientist Award is for early career scientists at the faculty level of Assistant Professor, or who have held the rank of Associate Professor for less than three years at the time of the nomination. Adjunct and visiting faculty are not eligible.
The nomination and selection process for the ECSA requires nomination from a SURA member institution.
SURA is a consortium of fifty-seven member universities that fosters collaborations which enhance members’ capabilities of undertaking significant, transformative scientific research projects that no single institution can handle independently. The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is managed by Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of SURA, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.\
More information about the Early Scientist Career Award is available at: Early Career Scientist Award < SURA
Contact:
Victoria Aikens
vaikens@sura.org
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