Cornell University School of Applied and Engineering Physics

09/03/2026

Using an engineered metasurface that traps light, Shivaksh Rawat, a Ph.D. candidate working with professor Gennady Shvets, is lead author on a paper that demonstrated a new way to generate strong static magnetic fields without using external magnets or magnetic materials—an approach that could advance spintronics, quantum and photonic computing, and data storage.

Using an engineered metasurface that traps light, Cornell researchers have demonstrated a new way to generate strong static magnetic fields without using external magnets or magnetic materials – an approach that could advance spintronics, quantum and photonic computing, and data storage.

08/25/2026

MARQUIS, a new Quantum Leap Challenge Institute funded by the National Science Foundation, will develop the materials and manufacturing techniques needed to build quantum processors at scale. AEP assistant professor Valla Fatemi will serve as deputy director of MARQUIS.

MARQUIS, a new Quantum Leap Challenge Institute funded by the National Science Foundation, will develop the materials and manufacturing techniques needed to build quantum processors at scale.

08/18/2026

Cornell Engineering at the leading edge of quantum computing: A team led by Valla Fatemi, assistant professor in the School of Applied and Engineering Physics in Duffield Engineering, developed a method that uses krypton gas to slash the deposition temperature of the corrosion-resistant metal tantalum, resulting in thin films that have substantially higher electronic conductivity.

Researchers developed a method that uses krypton gas to slash the deposition temperature of the corrosion-resistant metal tantalum, resulting in thin films that have substantially higher electronic conductivity.

08/05/2026

Light typically interacts with a material the same way whether it enters through the front or the back. AEP Ph.D. student, Thomas Ugras, is one of the Cornell researchers who have demonstrated a simple route to breaking that symmetry, with possibilities for photonics and quantum information processing.

Light typically interacts with a material the same way whether it enters through the front or the back. Cornell researchers have demonstrated a simple route to breaking that symmetry, with possibilities for photonics and quantum information processing.

06/26/2026

Congratulations to Valla Fatemi and Jeff Moses for winning SPROUT awards! These Cornell Duffield Engineering awards support teams of investigators with demonstrated collaborative success, typically those working on projects that have received positive reviews from outside agencies but not yet been awarded funding.

Valla Fatemi,assistant professor in the School of Applied and Engineering Physics, and Hari Nair, assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering co-led the project, "MOCVD Synthesis of Nitrides for Quantum Information Science"

Jeffrey Moses, associate professor in the School of Applied and Engineering Physics, and Robert DiStasio, Jr., associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences are co-leading a the project, "Harnessing the Atmosphere as an Adaptive Optical Medium: Towards Sensitive and Specific Remote Detection of Greenhouse Gases and Trace Contaminants"

06/23/2026

Congratulations to one of our newest faculty members, Professor Kenji Yasuda, or receiving two important awards this year.
https://vist.ly/58rr7

06/18/2026

Craig Fennie was an integral part of Applied and Engineering Physics, and we are heartbroken to report this news.

We are sorry to share the news that Craig Fennie, an associate professor in the School of Applied and Engineering Physics whose groundbreaking research opened new pathways for scientists to discover and design materials, died of a heart attack on June 14, 2026. He was 54.

“Craig’s path was unique. In many ways, he modeled our ‘any person…’ founding creed at Cornell,” said Lynden Archer, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering. “He was not just known for his creative mind, but for his kindness and humanity – a brilliant, yet grounded member of our campus community. We will miss him tremendously.”

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/06/craig-fennie-macarthur-fellow-and-materials-discovery-pioneer-dies-54

06/18/2026

Congratulations to Himani Mishra ’27, a rising senior in engineering physics and Hunter R. Rawlings III Cornell Presidential Research Scholar and Telluride Scholar, who has been named a 2026 Microscopy & Microanalysis Student Scholar by the Microanalysis Society. Mishra is a student of Professor David A. Muller.

Mishra earned the award for her paper "Atomic-level, Depth-Resolved 3D Imaging of Voids with Electron Ptychography.”

06/09/2026

We are pleased to announce that Chris Xu, the IBM Professor of Engineering, has been reappointed to a two-year term as Director of the School of Applied and Engineering Physics, effective July 1, 2026.

“Chris was first appointed to this position in 2020. He has provided the School with steady, strategic leadership and he has been a valuable contributor to the broader College community, serving as an effective and capable partner with a compelling vision for the future. He is also an excellent scientist and educator. Known for the development of temporal focusing and long-wavelength two- and three-photon microscopy for deep-tissue imaging, his work has found applications in fiber optics and optical imaging, with major thrusts in deep-tissue imaging, laser development, and smart and efficient optical imaging. He holds more than 25 patents on optical communications and imaging, and his work has been recognized with numerous awards. He is a fellow of both Optica (formerly the Optical Society of America) and the National Academy of Inventors.”

-- Lynden Archer, Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering

Graduate Field Affiliations Applied Physics Biomedical Engineering Biomedical and Biological Sciences Biophysics Biography Chris Xu’s group at Cornell pioneered the development of temporal focusing and long-wavelength two- and three-photon microscopy for deep-tissue imaging. His current research a...

06/08/2026

Congratulations to Ph.D. student Shake Karapetyan for winning the Materials Research Society's Gold Graduate Student Award!

For their research on atomic-scale 3D imaging and perovskite materials, respectively, two graduate students from the Cornell Duffield College of Engineering have been awarded Gold Graduate Student Awards by the Materials Research Society. These awards recognize exceptional graduate students whose ac...