Message From the Director
In this issue, we invite you to read about the projects and success stories made possible by your support. Your generous contributions have been instrumental in supporting scholarships, research initiatives, and the development of state-of-the-art teaching facilities. These gifts not only enhance the educational experience for our students but also ensure that our department remains at the forefront of academic and professional advancements.
As we navigate through the unprecedented turbulence in U.S. universities, we are reminded of the incredible impact our alumni have had on our department and the broader community. We will redouble our efforts to enhance the educational experience for our students, and our commitment to fostering the next generation of leaders and innovators will serve as our guiding light through these challenging times.
Thank you for your unwavering support. I am always happy to hear from you and welcome you to reach out to me.
Chris Xu, IBM Chair Professor of Engineering;
Director, School of Applied and Engineering Physics;
Mong Family Foundation Director, Cornell Neurotech–Engineering
More Alumni News
Faculty Updates
Welcome, Nick Rivera!
Nick Rivera will join the School of Applied and Engineering Physics as an assistant professor in July, 2025, to pursue research and teaching in the fields of optical physics, condensed matter and physics, nanotechnology, and quantum information science.
Read about Nick’s latest research turning “noisy” lasers into quantum light.
Faculty Awards and Recognition
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![Peter McMahon]()
Peter McMahon
Peter McMahon, associate professor, was selected as the 2025 recipient of Optica’s Adolph Lomb Medal. He was honored for demonstrating new forms of optical-physics-based computing machines that might one day surpass the standard digital-electronic von Neumann computers.
“I’m very grateful to have been recognized with this award,” said McMahon. “The Lomb Medal has an amazing list of past recipients, many whose research has inspired me since graduate school. Although this award names me, it really recognizes the work my lab has done collaboratively, and which has been led by the wonderful postdocs and students I have had as colleagues in my group. I am most indebted to them.”
The Adolph Lomb Medal is presented annually to an individual who has made a noteworthy contribution to optics at an early career stage. Contributions from any area of optics, fundamental or applied, are considered. The medal was established in 1940 to honor Adolph Lomb, the Society’s first treasurer, for his devotion to the Society and the advancement of optics. In 2023, Will Renninger (B.S.’06 in engineering physics and Ph.D. ’12 in applied physics working with Professor Frank Wise) also won this medal. Renninger’s award was “For pioneering contributions to opto-mechanics, ultrashort pulse generation, novel fiber lasers, and multimode nonlinear optics.”
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Valla Fatemi
Valla Fatemi, assistant professor, directs the Cornell segment of an $8.9 million project led by the New York Center for Research, Economic Advancement, Technology, Engineering, and Science (NY CREATES). Along with its partners in academia, industry, and government, NY CREATES will co-develop technologies necessary to demonstrate scalable quantum error correction, using new materials, innovative quantum circuits and qubit control schemes. Innovative processes that expand the limits of qubit performance will be explored at the academic labs, with a view to hasten the lab-to-fab transition.
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![David Muller]()
David Muller
Professor David Muller has been named co-director of the Cornell Center for Materials Research
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![Bruce Kusse]()
Bruce Kusse
Professor Bruce Kusse transitioned to emeritus status in December, 2024, but will continue to remain active in his research at Cornell.
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![Frank Wise]()
Frank Wise
Professor Frank Wise also transitioned to emeritus status in December, 2024, and will continue to remain active in his research at Cornell.
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![Hans Fleischmann]()
Hans Fleischmann
Hans Fleischmann, professor emeritus, passed away on May 6, 2023, at his home in Ithaca, New York of natural causes. He was 90 years old.
2025 Student Spotlights
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![Eleanor Richard]()
Eleanor Richard, EP ’25
Senior Eleanor Richard was selected as one of the 2025 winners of the Merrill Presidential Scholars Award. Since 1988, the Merrill Presidential Scholars Program has honored Cornell University’s most outstanding graduating seniors, while also recognizing the teachers who have played a significant role in ensuring their success. Each scholar is given an opportunity to recognize the high school teacher who most inspired their scholastic development and the Cornell faculty member who most significantly contributed to their college experience, who are then honored at a convocation hosted by Cornell’s president.
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![Two men stand in front of a poster, one holds an award certificate.]()
Thomas Ugras
Thomas Ugras, applied physics Ph.D. candidate (right), received a top poster prize at the Colloidal Semiconductor Nanocrystal GRC for his poster entitled, “Magic-Sized Cluster Self-Assembly enables Exceptional Chiroptical and Structural Properties.” Professor Richard D. Robinson stands to his left.
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![A student looks into a microscope.]()
Lewis Holland, EP ’27
Sophomore Lewis Holland recently won a $7,000 undergraduate research award from Cornell Engineering’s Office of Inclusive Excellence for his research titled “Pressure enhancement of polarization in 2D ferroelectrics.” Holland, was one of four AEP students to win this award.
Commencement
2025 Award Winners
Congratulations to our 2025 Graduates and award winners:
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Trevor R. Cuykendall Memorial Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Academic Achievement
Eleanor Richard
Joshua Tensuan
Arnav Tapadia -
Paul L. Hartman Prize in Experimental Physics
Eleanor Richard
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Dorothy and Fred Chau Award
Polina Blinova (Professor Gennady Shvets, advisor)
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Henri S. Sack Memorial Award
Aiden Sims
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David Delano Clark Award
Akshat Gandhi
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Williams Nichols Findley Award
Thomas Ugras
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Trevor R. Cuykendall Memorial Prize for Outstanding Teaching Assistant in Engineering Physics
Phuong Nguyen
Harikrishnan Kunhikrishnan Premakumari
Zhen Yang
2024 Award Winners
Congratulations to our 2024 Graduates and award winners:
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Trevor R. Cuykendall Memorial Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Academic Achievement
Sam Gou
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Paul L. Hartman Prize in Experimental Physics
Jackie Zheng
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Dorothy and Fred Chau Award
Pranav Kakhandiki (Professor Ankit Disa, advisor)
Rod Rofougaran (Professor Fengqi You, advisor)
Hanna Westerheim (Professor Mark Wilde, advisor) -
Henri S. Sack Memorial Award
Cole Liu
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David Delano Clark Award
Elisabeth C. Bodnauk
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Williams Nichols Findley Award
Zhengxgai Xia
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Trevor R. Cuykendall Memorial Prize for Outstanding Teaching Assistant in Engineering Physics
Amelia Schaefer
Justin Tahmassebpur
Aman Pate
Research in the News
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Imaging technique reveals first 2D chainmail-like material
An advanced imaging technique developed at Cornell has revealed the first two-dimensional, mechanically interlocked polymer – resembling the links in chainmail – confirming a breakthrough in both material design and electron microscopy.
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Microscale kirigami robot folds into 3D shapes and crawls
Researchers created a robot less than 1 millimeter in size that is printed as a 2D hexagonal “metasheet” but, with a jolt of electricity, morphs into preprogrammed 3D shapes and crawls.
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Sound drives ‘quantum jumps’ between electron orbits
Cornell researchers have demonstrated that acoustic sound waves can be used to control the motion of an electron as it orbits a lattice defect in a diamond, a technique that can potentially improve the sensitivity of quantum sensors and be used in other quantum devices.
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X-ray of vibrating diamond yields new equation for quantum sensors
A research team led by Cornell mapped atomic vibrations in diamond and linked them with the behavior of the quantum system embedded within, an advance that will make quantum sensors significantly more precise than today’s detection tools.
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There’s two sides to this semiconductor, and many simultaneous functions
A Cornell-led collaboration has developed the first dual-sided – or “dualtronic” – semiconductor that combines photonic and electronic functions simultaneously.
Staff Updates
Farewell to…
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![Cynthia Reynolds]()
Cynthia Reynolds
After more than 11 years of dedicated service, Cynthia retired in June 2024 from her role as the student services coordinator.
Cynthia was known for her tireless commitment to supporting our students and her deep knowledge of our academic programs. Her sense of humor, professionalism, and unwavering support are deeply missed by students, faculty, and staff alike. Please join us in wishing Cynthia all the best as she embarks on this exciting new chapter of her life. -
![Jessica Troy-Smirh]()
Jessica Troy-Smith
Jessica, who has been an integral part of our staff and financial team, accepted a position as a Post Award Associate with the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) in April, 2025. We congratulate and thank her for all her hard work and wish her well in her new position.
Welcome to…
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![Hannah Peck]()
Hannah Peck
Hannah joined us in July 2024 as the undergraduate and M.Eng. student services coordinator.
Hannah is a highly collaborative and skilled relationship-builder. She has more than 10 years of experience working in the Penn Yan School District, serving as their mentor teacher and staff developer since 2021. Before that, Hannah was an elementary school teacher.
She has B.S.E and M.S. degrees in education from Mansfield University. -
![Elizabeth Bentz]()
Elizabeth Bentz
We welcomed Elizabeth to our community in October 2024 as a graduate field administrator who will support the school’s Ph.D. and M.S. programs.
Elizabeth is from North Carolina where she worked at East Carolina University as a student support specialist in the College of Education, and also in their Agromedicine Institute where she coordinated grants that assisted migrant and rural farmworkers with obtaining healthcare. She is currently working towards a distance-learning B.S. degree in communication studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
2024 President’s Awards Winner
Cornell Engineering’s Unit Coordination Team, part of the Marketing and Communications department, was awarded one of the 2024 President’s Awards for Employee Excellence. Diane Tessaglia-Hymes, communications coordinator for Applied and Engineering Physics (second from right), along with the three other team members (left to right, Ashley Bohn, Chris Dawson, and Kathryn Henion), was awarded the ONE Cornell Award, which is presented to a group that implements a project or solves a problem to positively impact Cornell and the community. The group won the award for their “pivotal role in developing a new Cornell Engineering website.”
