I received my Electrotechnical Engineer degree with a major in Applied Physics (1994) magna cum laude from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium. As a Hoover Foundation Brussels Fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation, I obtained a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (1996) from Stanford University. I continued to pursue a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (2003) at Stanford University as an FMA Fellow of the Center for Integrated Systems and with support from the Fund for Scientific Research - Flanders (Belgium).
I am currently a Senior Research Engineer in Stanford's interdisciplinary Edward L. Ginzton Laboratory. Prior to this, I was an Engineering Research Associate (2007-12) and a Postdoctoral Scholar in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University (2003-07).
My dissertation, entitled “The optics of image sensors,” provides the first comprehensive optical study of the pixels in a solid-state image sensor, and pioneers the integration of subwavelength metal optics functionality with VLSI circuitry using the back-end technology in a standard 180-nm CMOS process.
My current interests are in nanophotonics at the interface between basic physics and optoelectronic systems. My research focuses on the theoretical and experimental exploration of metal-based metamaterials and nanophotonic devices that enable efficient transport of light at the nano-scale with applications in energy, information technology, optical sensing, and even cooling textiles.
I have published over 125 papers in peer-reviewed journals (8 invited/41 highly-cited/4 ISI Top 1%) and peer-reviewed conference proceedings (13 invited/15 highly-cited/4 best). I hold nine patents (4 issued, 5 licensed). I have been invited to present my work at international conferences and at universities around the world (>40 invited talks).
I have been actively involved in and I have organized several international conferences and workshops. I was co-organizer of Symposium N on Materials, Integration, and Technology for Monolithic Instruments II at the 2007 Fall Meeting of the Material Research Society (MRS). I was General Chair (2012) and Program Chair (2011) of the Imaging Systems and Applications (IS) Topical Meeting hosted by the Optical Society (OSA). I have been on the IS Program Comittee since 2010. I have been on the Program Committee and Session Chair for Digital Photography IV-VIII at Electronic Imaging 2008-12 organized by the Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T) and the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE).
I have been Guest Editor for a Special Section on Digital Photography in the Journal of Electronic Imaging (2010) and Topical Editor for a Feature Issue on Imaging Systems and Applications in Applied Optics (2012-2013, 2017).
I have been elected Fellow of the Optical Society (OSA) and the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE). I am a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a member of the Material Research Society (MRS). I have been elected Alumni Member of Tau Beta Pi - the Engineering Honor Society and Full Member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society.