Prof. Ho Wai (Howard) Lee

Howard Lee is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at UC Irvine. Before joining UCI, he was an Associated Professor in the Department of Physics at Baylor University and IQSE Fellow and visiting professor in the Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering (IQSE) at TexasA&M. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Caltech, working with Prof. Harry Atwater in active plasmonics/metasurfaces. He received his PhD in Physics from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Germany in 2012 under the supervision of Prof. Philip Russell (2015 President of OSA). His current research focuses on active linear, nonlinear, and quantum plasmonic/metasurface/zero-index optics, quantum biophotonics and imaging, “meta”-fiber optics, and hybrid photonic-plasmonic on-chip optical devices. His work on nano-optics, plasmonics, and photonic crystals has led to 45 journal publications in various journals, such as Science, Nano Letters, Advanced Materials, ACS Photonics, and Laser & Photonics Reviews as well as 80 invited talks and 150 conference papers. Dr. Lee is a recipient of a 2023 and 2022 Finalist of Moore Inventor Fellow, a 2023 UCI Beall Innovation Award in Physical Sciences, 2021 iCANX Young Scientist Award, 2021 Finalist of Rising Stars of Light, 2020 SPIE Rising Researcher, a 2020 Baylor Outstanding Professor Award, a 2019 DARPA Director’s Fellowship, a 2019 IEEE OGC Young Scientist Award, a 2018 NSF CAREER Award, a 2017 DARPA Young Faculty Award, a 2018 OSA Ambassador, a 2017 APS Robert S. Hyer Award, and a 2018 Baylor Young Investigator Award.

He organized more than 24 technical sessions in nanophotonics/metasurfaces in international conferences (CLEO, META, PQE, MRS) and serves as Lead Symposium Organizer for plasmonic/metasurface symposiums at 2019-2024 MRS Fall Meeting and 2020-2024 MRS Spring Meeting. He is a Founding Associate Editor for OSA Continuum and Associate Editor for Scientific Reports.