Prof. Zetian Mi selected as IEEE Photonics Society Distinguished Lecturer

Prof. Zetian Mi is one of six professors worldwide selected to be a 2020-2021 Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Photonics Society. This program was designed to honor excellent speakers who have made technical, industrial or entrepreneurial contributions to the field of photonics and to enhance the technical programs of the IEEE Photonics Society Chapters.

Mi’s talk will focus on the advances of ultraviolet optoelectronics for improved disinfection and water purification. Mercury lamps, which require a lot of power and can be hazardous, are the current method for disinfection and water purification. III-nitride ultraviolet (UV) light sources, including light emitting diodes (LEDs) and lasers, offer a promising alternative. Mi will rely on recent research showing that AlGaN-based UV-C LEDs can readily shred genetic material of viruses and bacterial and achieve 99.9% sterilization of SARS-COV-2. He will present the recent advances of AlGaN and BN nanostructures and heterostructures and their applications in UV optoelectronics. He will also explore how these methods are better at preventing the transmission of microbial diseases with virtually no harmful side effects.

As a Distinguished Lecturer, chapters may request Mi to present at chapter meetings, chapter-related events, or co-sponsored conferences organized by a chapter during his term served July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021. He will also be available for virtual presentations, or the society can provide a pre-recorded talk for chapter events.

An alumnus of Michigan, Mi received his Ph.D. in Applied Physics in 2006. He returned as a faculty member in 2016. Most recently, he was an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McGill University, where he received several major awards including the Engineering Innovation Award.

Mi is a fellow of the Optical Society of America. He has received the Young Scientist Award from the International Symposium on Compound Semiconductors and the Young Investigator Award from the 27th North American Molecular Beam Epitaxy Conference.