Developing or co-developing two graduate courses:

  • Microfabrication and Thin Film Materials   (Syllabus)
    • Learn how real micro- and nano-devices are built, from vacuum systems and lithography to thin-film growth and plasma etching. This graduate-level / advanced undergrad course combines materials science with the science and technology of microfabrication and thin-film deposition, preparing students to effectively use the MATFab and MBE facilities at the University of Iowa and beyond. The Spring 2026 offering expands to five dedicated lab weeks to significantly increase hands-on experience in microfabrication.
  • Quantum Optics and Nanophotonics (Weekly Schedule)
    • I co-developed this course with Prof. Ravi Uppu in part as an advanced optics course, a follow-up to Introduction to Optics, with a focus on advanced photonic materials and the quantum properties of light. 

Some recent undergraduate courses I have taught

  • Introduction to Optics (Syllabus)

    The questions we explore in this course include: 

    • What makes a fogbow appear in the sky, and why does the moon sometimes have rings around it?
    • When does light behave like a wave, and when like a photon, and how does its energy and momentum drive solar sails, ignite fusion pellets, excite atoms, and shine from LEDs?
    • How does light propagate through dispersive materials and gases such as air, metals, and dielectrics, and why is the sky blue?
    • How are different types of lenses, prisms, beamsplitters, and fiber optics used to control, guide, and manipulate light?
    • What role does diffraction play in animal vision, and in the performance of telescopes and microscopes?
    • How do interference and polarization give rise to thin-film colors, dichroic filters, and birefringence?
    • How can Fourier optics be used to transform, filter, and analyze images?
    • What is coherence, and why is it essential for interferometers, astronomical imaging, and quantum information systems?
    • How do nonlinear optical effects generate new colors of light and ultrafast pulses?
    • What makes a laser work, and how can we shape and control its beams?
    • This course builds the foundation for understanding natural optical phenomena, designing experiments, and entering research areas such as photonics, imaging, materials science, and quantum technologies.