Physics' Giti Khodaparast elected 2024 Optica Fellow

Giti Khodaparast, physics professor and L.C. Hassinger Faculty Fellow in Nanoscience, has been elected a 2024 fellow of Optica, formerly known as the Optical Society of America, the leading society in optics and photonics.

Khodaparast, of the Department of Physics in the College of Science, joins 129 members from 26 countries elected to the society’s 2024 fellow class. The society selected her for “contributions to understanding quantum and coherent states in multifunctional materials and educating researchers from underrepresented groups in science.”

“Congratulations to the 2024 class of Optica fellows,” said Michal Lipson 2023 Optica president. “It is a pleasure to honor these members who are advancing our field and society. We are grateful for their exceptional work and dedication.”

Optica fellows are selected based on several factors, including outstanding contributions to research, business, education, engineering, and service to Optica and its community, the Optica society stated in its announcement.

“This is a well-deserved honor for Giti,” said Mark Pitt, professor and chair of the Department of Physics. “It not only acknowledges the significant impact of her outstanding research program in multifunctional materials, but also highlights her success in educating undergraduate and graduate students, including many from underrepresented groups.”

“Optics and photonics are important research directions with tremendous impacts on many advanced science and technology areas, including communications, imaging and sensing, medical, energy, and national security,” said Khodaparast. “My group educated several outstanding students in modern experimental optical research and contributed to the probe and control of quantum and coherent states in less optically explored and technologically important multifunctional materials. These research directions were supported in recent years by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the L.C. Hassinger Faculty Fellowship at Virginia Tech.”

As fellows can account for no more than 10 percent of the total membership, the election process is highly competitive. Candidates are recommended by the fellow members committee and approved by the awards council and board of directors, the society announcement said. The new fellows will be honored at Optica conferences and events throughout 2024.

Founded in 1916, Optica is the leading organization for scientists, engineers, business professionals, students, and others interested in the science of light.