in NAE symposium
Janet Pan, associate professor of electrical engineering and of applied physics, is one of the 88 engineers ages 30-45 who have been invited to participate in the National Academy of Engineering's (NAE) U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium Sept. 2224 at the GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna, New York.
The symposium is the 11th annual event bringing together promising engineers nationwide who are performing cutting-edge engineering and technical research in many disciplines. The honored participants from industry, academia and government were nominated by fellow engineers or organizations and will participate with senior NAE fellows.
"Significant advances in engineering are occurring where disciplines intersect," says NAE President William A. Wulf. "Frontiers of Engineering provides an opportunity for engineers to learn about techniques and challenges in areas other than their own."
Pan is developing new materials for optoelectronics. To be effective, she explains, fiber optics must transmit light at a precise wavelength for long-distance communications. For example, the LEDs (light emitting diodes) that are commonly seen in traffic lights radiate at wavelengths that are not useful for transmitting information over long distances, she says.
"Light that you can see is ineffective for transmission over long distances. If you try to send it over fiber optic cables or through the atmosphere, it scatters and gets lost," explains Pan, who is working on a new source for this kind of light -- a crystal made by modifying a familiar semiconductor, like gallium arsenide, to expand its capabilities.
"Modifying materials that already exist takes advantage of the technology that is in place, while giving it a new dimension," says Pan. "Conversations at a symposium like Frontiers of Engineering will bring out new ideas for applications of this technology -- from military weapons detection to diagnostics on human blood."
A Yale faculty member since 1999, Pan was previously honored for her exceptional work as one of only 26 applied scientists nationwide to receive an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award in 2004. She is also a recipient of an NSF Faculty Early Career Award. Her undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral training was done at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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