JOHN D. JOANNOPOULOS, Francis
Wright Davis Professor of Physics
Research Interests
The research of Professor Joannopoulos spans two major directions.
The first is devoted to creating a realistic and microscopic theoretical
description of the properties of material systems. His approach
is fundamental to predicting geometric, electronic and dynamical
structure, ab-initio—that is, given only the atomic
numbers of the constituent atoms as experimental input. Ab-initio
investigations are invaluable because they can stand on their own,
complement experimental observations, and probe into regimes inaccessible
to experiment. Examples of recent work include the elucidation of
electron transport in water and the deliberate computer design of
a new semiconductor alloy for use as a novel optoelectronic material.
The second major direction involves the development of a new class
of materials called photonic crystals, which are designed
to effect the properties of photons in much the same way that semiconductors
effect the properties of electrons. These materials provide a new
dimension in the ability to control and mold the flow of light.
Current efforts include the design of novel channel drop microfilters,
high efficiency LEDs, low threshold microlasers, and low-loss waveguide
bends and intersections.
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Biographical Sketch
Professor John D. Joannopoulos is the Francis Wright Davis Professor
of Physics at MIT. He is the author or coauthor of more than 350
journal articles, a textbook, Photonic Crystals, and 20 U.S.
Patents. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, the Materials Research Society, a Fellow of the American
Physical Society (1983), and was both an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow
(1976-1980), and a John S. Guggenheim Fellow (1981-1982). Professor
Joannopoulos is the recipient of the MIT School of Science Graduate
Teaching Award (1991), the William Buechner Teaching Prize of the
Department of Physics (1996), and the David Adler Award of the American
Physical Society (1997). He is a former Divisional Associate Editor
of Physical Review Letters, and former Member of the Editorial
Board of Reviews of Modern Physics.
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Selected Publications
Recent papers and
publications by Joannopoulos Group members.
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