Russian physicist Alexander "Sasha" Popov, research professor of physics - honorary associate at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), is taking part in a national research project involving nanotechnology.

His $45,335 grant from Purdue University�s Nanotechnology Center is entitled, "Innovative Nanotechnology Related Research. Popov�s one-year grant is a component of a larger project funded by the U.S. Defense Department�s Defense Advance Research Project Agency (DARPA). Nanotechnology is the science of building electronic devices and circuits from single atoms, molecules and their aggregates.

According to Popov, this area of scientific research and technology has become an international focus within the last 10 years. Popov�s former Krasnoyarsk State University graduate student, Professor Vlad Shalaev, is leading the optical section of this research program at Purdue University.

"With the support of my UWSP colleagues, I will be able to conduct exploratory research on possible applications for nanotechnology in the field of optics and photonics, which are of critical importance for further development of this program," said Popov. "Throughout the year, I will explore and develop basic principles of so-called �left-handed� nanophotonics, an emerging field of science that will revolutionize the fields of optics and lasers."

According to Popov, modern-day optics and photonics have been based on "right-handed" materials, that is, materials with positive refractive index. Contemporary theories of electromagnetism, including optics, assume that all materials possess a positive refractive index. Nanotechnology has opened the avenue for creation of hypothetic "left-handed" materials with unusual properties based on negative refraction index. With greater understanding and research, left-handed photonics could have far reaching applications throughout the fields of optics and lasers.

"From everyday eyeglasses to quantum computers, optical networking, medical surgery and everything in between, practically all of our basic concepts and notions on optics are about to change forever," said Popov.

A faculty member at UWSP since 2000, Popov holds a Ph.D. from the Institute of Physics of Russian Academy of Sciences and Krasnoyarsk State University. He has taught at Tomsk and Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk state universities in Russia and has authored or co-authored three books and more than 300 articles. Popov�s areas of expertise include laser physics, mathematics, computer simulations, as well as information technology enhanced education. He continues to collaborate on research with colleagues at UWSP, former UWSP Chancellor Tom George, colleagues at Krasnoyarsk Institute of Physics and Krasnoyarsk State University, and other physicists in various countries through the Internet.

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