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Abstract
Light is much more than a simple beam—it can carry rich information encoded in the spatial structure of, for instance, its amplitude, phase, polarization, and angular momentum. When light interacts with a medium, these structural characteristics transform, revealing hidden medium details across scales. These interactions can range from large-scale atmospheric effects like the polarization patterns in daylight skies to the nanoscale emission behaviors of individual fluorescent molecules: The polarization pattern carries information about the location of the sun, used by insects for navigation, and the structured emission of a dipolar molecule holds information about dipole orientations.

Inversely, we can tailor the structure of light with precision, creating sophisticated beams that enable pioneering technologies. Structured light enhances capabilities in areas such as optical manipulation, high-resolution imaging, advanced material processing, and secure communication. In quantum cryptography, for instance, it boosts information capacity per photon, noise resilience, and transmission distance by increasing the dimension.

We will explore how encoding and decoding information in the structure of light opens new avenues for advancing cutting-edge applications and emerging technologies. 

 

Speakers Bio
Dr. Eileen Otte joined the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester as a new faculty member in January 2025. Before, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials (GLAM), Stanford University, advised by Prof. Mark Brongersma. Eileen’s research concentrates on the fundamental properties and diverse applications of structured light fields, in areas such as singular optics, nanoscale imaging and sensing, quantum cryptography, optical manipulation, and more. In her postdoctoral research, Eileen focused on nanoscale light-matter interactions, combining structured light and nanophotonics.

Eileen performed her PhD work at the University of Muenster, Germany, and University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; it was honored with summa cum laude as well as the WWU Dissertation Award, and published as a book in the Springer Theses series. She has also received the Research Award 2020 of the Industrial Club Duesseldorf, was appointed a junior class member of the NRW Academy of Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts, and was listed among the Emerging Leaders 2021 and Emerging Talents 2021 of IOP’s Journal of Optics. Her postdoctoral research was supported by the PRIME fellowship of the German Academic Exchange Service as well as Stanford’s GLAM Postdoctoral Fellowship.