Professor Roberto Paiella Elected Optica Fellow
By Lea Rivel
Professor Roberto Paiella has been elected to the rank of Fellow of Optica (formerly the Optical Society of America). He was awarded this honor “for outstanding contributions to the development of novel optoelectronic devices based on quantum-confined systems and photonic nanostructures.”
Optica’s fellows serve with “distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics through distinguished contributions to education, research, engineering, business and society.” This newly-awarded designation represents the demonstrated esteem of Professor Paiella’s peers and places him among the top 10% of the society’s membership.
Professor Paiella joined the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2005. His research centers on plasmonics, nanophotonics, and metasurface-enhanced optoelectronics; Terahertz photonics; and device physics and applications of semiconductor quantum structures and 2D materials. He is the 2024 General Chair of the IEEE Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO). He is also a two-time winner of Boston University’s Ignition Award, for innovative research with potential for practical and commercial applications. Paiella received his PhD from the California Institute of Technology in 1998.