Andrea Tao
Associate Professor
Department of NanoEngineering
University of California, San Diego
Seminar Information
Many optical spectroscopy and bioimaging techniques are limited by the ability to fabricate nanoscale probes that are robust, reproducible, and support high quality optical resonances. I will describe how colloidal plasmonic nanoparticles overcome these obstacles and serve as enabling materials for spectroscopy and imaging. First, I will present our recent work on the synthesis and self-assembly of colloidal nanoparticles for the fabrication of resonant optical nanojunctions. Previously, we demonstrated that shaped colloidal nanoparticles can be organized into nanojunctions that possess intense “hot spots” due to electromagnetic field localization. Here, I will describe how colloidal nanoparticles can be assembled and used as metasurfaces for second harmonic light generations and near-perfect light absorbers. Second, I will present new syntheses and spectroscopic data for plasmonic nanodisks that are capable of upconverting near-infrared (NIR) light. We demonstrate that control of particle shape can be gained by utilizing a single-source, supramolecular precursor that adopts liquid crystalline order. This synthetic control results in the generation of two-photon absorbing (TPA) inorganic nanoparticles that support plasmon resonances in the NIR to mid-infrared wavelengths, which have the potential to exhibit extraordinary two-photon action cross-sections.
Dr. Tao is currently an Associate Professor in the NanoEngineering Department at UC San Diego. She earned her A.B. in Chemistry and Physics from Harvard University in 2002 and her Ph.D. in Chemistry from UC Berkeley in 2007 where she conducted her dissertation research on colloidal synthesis and self-assembly. She was a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Santa Barbara in the interdisciplinary program of Biomolecular Science & Engineering, where she studied the dynamic camouflage mechanisms of cephalopods. Her research interests lie in the discovery and development of new nanomaterials for plasmonics, where light is propagated, manipulated, and confined by nanocomponents that are smaller than the wavelength of light itself. She was the recipient of a DARPA Young Faculty Award, a Sloan Fellowship in Chemistry, and the NanoEngineering Dept. Teacher of the Year Award. Dr. Tao is a rock climbing enthusiast, an avid gardener, and a first-time mom of an 8-month-old tyrant.