Nanotechnology Chemical Sensor Development Consultant

Expertise

• Scientific and engineering research in the nanotechnology, biosensor, optical, and surfaced enhanced disciplines.
• Innovative nanotechnology intellectual properties solutions and prototypes, solving technical challenges from the earliest stage of experiment and development.
• Next generation sensor technology development based on optical diffraction grating nanostructures.
• Smart nano-sensor devices in surface enhanced Raman commercial products.

Focused Areas

Optics

• Modern optics and photonics, optical waveguide, thin film optics, optical spectroscopy (absorption/reflectance, Raman, fluorescence), microscopy, and construction of modular optical setups.

Laser

• Laser technology, ultrafast laser spectroscopic techniques (pump-probe), operation and maintenance of mode-locked Ti-Sapphire, Nd-YAG (Clark-MXR CPA 1000, 2210) and pulsed diode lasers and CW lasers.

Spectroscopy

• Spectroscopic instrument design and construction, light sources, CCD detectors, photodiode arrays, photomultipliers, gratings, spectrographs, and optical fibers.

Semiconductor Fabrication

• Standard wafer fab process and control systems (in class 10 cleanroom); wet chemical processing, E-beam lithography, photolithography, soft lithography, thin film deposition and measurement, surface coating, etching, electrochemical techniques, and metrology.

Materials Science

• Nanostructure fabrication and processing; Wet chemistry synthesis of complicated metal nanostructures (electroplating, electrochemistry), TEM, SEM, EDAX, AFM and NSOM techniques; defect inspection; Energy storage system (batteries, ultracapacitors); Polymer physics and chemistry.

Analytical Chemistry

• FTIR, NMR, MS analysis, GC, HPLC, ICP, UV-Visible spectra, X-ray Diffraction and crystal structure analysis.

Experience

Independent Consultant, 2012 - Present

• Consulting for chemical sensors, analytical chemistry, optical spectroscopy instrumentation, microscopy instrument, materials science, nanotechnology, new nanomaterials development.

HP Laboratories, Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA, Researcher, 2008 - 2011

• Developed the next generation sensor technology based on optical diffraction grating nanostructures.
• Invented a series of smart nano-sensor devices and achieved extraordinary chemical sensitivity by solving long standing challenges in Surface Enhanced Raman commercial products.
• Investigated the optical properties of nanogratings using a variety of techniques including near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) and optical spectroscopy.

Philip Morris USA Inc.,(PM USA), Richmond, VA, Research Fellow, 2006 - 2008

• Interdisciplinary Network of Emerging Science and Technology (INEST), a research program managed by Philip Morris USA to promote the commercialization of advanced nanotechnology.

Scientist for Projects

• NanoPhotonics and Near-field Optics Lab at College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL), University of Central Florida.
• Department of Chemistry, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Established industry and academic working relationships for technology development.
• Utilized state-of-the-art optical technologies to study laser-materials interaction and realize ultrasensitive chemical and bio-sensing.
• Invented new technique to measure physical properties of small particles using ultrafast laser spectroscopy. Demonstrated applications of smart materials in the development of chemical and biosensors.
• Fabricated a variety of novel materials and investigated their physical, chemical, and optical properties using electron microscopy, light microscopy and ultrafast laser spectroscopy.
• Converted a light microscope to spectral imaging system.
• Conducted experiments to study surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and fluorescence spectroscopy using confocal microscopy techniques.

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, Research Assistant, 2000 - 2006

• Investigated the optical interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with materials (metal, semiconductor nanoparticles, and thin films).
• Developed an optical method using ultrafast spectroscopy to measure the mechanical properties of materials based on the excitation of particle plasmon.
• Simulated time-dependent energy transfer process, established the theory of heat transfer at nanoscale.

Honors & Publications

Credentials

• Computational skills, Mathematica, AutoCAD, ChemDraw, Origin, and LabView Programming language.

Academic and Professional Affiliations

• Grand Award Judge for Intel's International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)

Memberships

• Sigma Xi
• International Society for Optical Engineering - SPIE
• Optical Society of America - OSA
• American Chemical Society - ACS
• Founder and President of the SPIE-OSA University of Notre Dame

Reviewer

• Optical Society of America
• American Chemical Society
• Royal Society of Chemistry (London, UK)
• Institute of Physics (London, UK), Optics Letters, Optical Express
• Chemical Society Reviews, Analyst, Lab on a Chip
• Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Applied Physics B, Nanotechnology
• Journal of Physics D-Applied Physics

Languages

• Chinese

Publications and Patents

• Author and Co-Author of numerous publications in peer reviewed scientific journals, educational text, conferences and presentations.
• Inventor-Co-Inventor of numerous patents in the areas of; signals in enhanced Raman spectroscopy, compact sensors and systems, apparatus for SERS performance.

Education

• Ph.D. Physical Chemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
• B.S. Materials Science-Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China