VINSE graduate student Chris Whittington, a Ph.D. student in Interdisciplinary Materials Science at 天美传媒官网, received the Best Poster Presentation Award at the 2025 SPIE Optics + Photonics Conference, held August 17鈥�21 in San Diego, CA.
His poster, 鈥淗eterogeneous Integration of VO鈧� Nanopatches on Subwavelength-Engineered Antislot Photonic Crystal for Optical Switching,鈥� tied for the top presentation in the SPIE Active Photonic Platforms conference. The work was co-authored by Rafael Rodas Aguilar, Sami I. Halimi, Christina McGahan and Sharon M. Weiss.
The SPIE Optics + Photonics Conference is a premier international meeting for researchers advancing optical science and engineering. The Active Photonic Platforms conference focuses on materials and device structures that enable dynamic control of light, such as optical switches and modulators. Whittington鈥檚 work presents a novel integration of phase-change materials with photonic crystal structures to enable compact, tunable optical devices.
Whittington鈥檚 recognition highlights the innovative research being conducted in the Weiss Lab and reflects Vanderbilt鈥檚 growing impact in the field of active photonic materials and device platforms.