Chao Ma Awarded SPIE Optics and Photonics Education Scholarship

Chao Ma has been awarded a 2022 Optics and Photonics Education Scholarship by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, for his potential contributions to the field of optics, photonics or related fields.

Ma, a Ph.D. student in the Yale’s Department of Electrical Engineering is supervised by Professor Fengnian Xia and his research focuses on quantum geometry and topology in light-matter interactions and photonic applications. His most recent work, published in Nature, discovered electrically tunable bulk photovoltaic effect, a second-order nonlinear optical process, in a graphene moiré superlattice. He further demonstrated an on-chip intelligent sensor which can simultaneously detect the intensity, wavelength and polarization of light. 

“Beyond research, I actively participate in community activities, interacting with students in primary and high schools to foster their interests in optics and photonics,” said Ma.

In 2022, the Society awarded scholarships to 78 outstanding SPIE Student Members, based on their potential contribution to optics and photonics, or a related discipline.