Interdisciplinary Research

Current research topics

Identification of biologically produced materials through spectropolarimetry
Adaptive optics and image analysis techniques for optical satellite communication and biomedical imaging applications

Projects

Interdisciplinary

Compressed multiline spectroscopic trace gas sensing

Highly-multiplexed Bragg gratings for optically adding spectral lines

Non-linear control of adaptive optics for exoplanet imaging

Maximizing the contrast instead of minimizing wavefront aberrations.

Planets and Inner Disks in Reflected Starlight with SPHERE/ZIMPOL

Improving the polarimetric sensitivity by understanding beamshifts

EST is a 4-meter class solar telescope, to be located in the Canary Islands. We were part of the EST FP-7 design study grant and were in charge of the polarization optics as well as the building and the dome. for this telescope.

EPICS

ExoPlanet Imager and Characterization Instrument for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT)

Extreme Polarimeter

Imaging polarimeter for the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope

Low-Cost Solar Adaptive Optics

First PC-controlled adaptive otics for a large solar telescope.

Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS)

Synoptic Optical Long-term Investigations of the Sun (SOLIS) is a synoptic facility for solar observations over a long time frame that is funded by the NSF and designed and built by the National Solar Observatory.

Smart Microscopy of Biological Tissues

Astronomical adaptive optics technology is used to dramatically enhance the spatial resolution of in-vivo two-photon microscopy of thick optical tissues.

HARPS Polarimeter

The HARPS instrument at La Silla, Chile is famous for its planet detections through the radial velocity method. We upgraded it to a precise spectropolarimeter by replacing the obsolete Iodine cell in the Cassegrain adapter with a dual-beam polarimetry unit.