Thomas received the Bachelors of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and the Masters of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Enginering in 2002 and 2003, respectively, all from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is currently a Nanoscience and Technology Fellow at Georgia Tech and is working towards the Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Masters of Science in Applied Mathematics degrees. Thomas has previously studied at several universities, including the University of Oxford, England, Deakin University, Australia, and Kansas State University. In Summer of 2004, Thomas was awarded an NSF East Asia and Pacific Studies Institute (EAPSI) fellowship for conducting research at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. As a junior in high school, Thomas had the distinction of working in the United States House of Representatives as a Page.
In early 2004, Thomas joined Prof. Citrin’s research group. His research is on acoustic modulation of optical nonlinearities in multifunctional dielectrics, such as lithium niobate. The aim of this research is to control in space as well as in time the optical nonlinearities in these and related materials for applications in optical telecommunications as well as for the generation of narrowband terahertz transients. Acoustical fields will be generated by means of interdigitated transducers (the acoustic-wave source), and the acoustically generated stress, in conjunction with electric fields and temperature control, will be used to spatially pole or depolarize ferroelectrics such as lithium niobate or various other properties of related materials. This work is part of a larger effort at Georgia Tech headed by Prof. Alan Doolittle, who is carrying out the materials synthesis, and also involving Prof. William Hunt, who will be working on the acoustic modulation. The larger project involves the epitaxial growth of multifunctional oxide layers.
Thomas is currently modeling acousto-optical interactions in these materials accounting for optical propagation effects. The model will be generalized to account for nonlinear optical propagation in acoustically modulated media. Optimization of devices for optical telecomm applications and for terahertz generation will be carried out in close cooperation with the experimental effort.
Research Interests
- Terahert pulse generation techniques
- Dispersive Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) methods
- Plasmon waveguide theory and simulation
- Applications of the Multiresolution Time-Domain (MRTD) method
Distinctions
- Sam Nunn Security Fellow (2005-2006)
- Georgia Tech Nanoscience and Technology Fellow (2004-2005)
- National Science Foundation EAPSI Fellowship (2004)
- Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu
Page Last Updated: 28 July 2005