Welcome to the Wave Transport in Complex Systems Group
We study cutting-edge problems relating to classical wave dynamics arising in artificial materials (metamaterials) and complex real-world structures (e.g. reverberating electromagnetic environments). Our choice of physical problems is guided by acute societal needs such as improved wireless communications, avionic sensing and biosensing, photonic designs that promote unidirectional information transport and imaging, and development of high-power sources and clever electromagnetic filters that protect assets from harmful high-power radiation. All these problems require a better understanding of the fundamental principles that dictate wave transport. Such knowledge will allow the development of novel methodologies and device-designed protocols that can be utilized to mold the flow of energy and information carried by classical waves. In pursuing these efforts, the group adopts a holistic approach where the development of appropriate theoretical/mathematical tools and computational modeling is complemented by proof-of-principle experiments. While most of the in-house experimental platforms that the group utilizes are in the RF and microwave range, they are readily applicable to a variety of classical wave frameworks ranging from optics and microwaves to RF and mechanical/acoustic waves.
Current projects that the group addresses involve the development of (a) wavefront protocols that harness the complexity of modern indoor electromagnetic environments for resilient wireless communications; (b) sensing schemes with hypersensitive responses to specific (environmental) perturbations for biosensing and avionics; (c) radar and satellite protection from harmful electromagnetic radiation; (d) design of high power sources for medical and wireless communication purposes; (e) AI-guided exploration of self-organization phenomena occurring in physical systems (e.g. arrays of coupled lasers) and biology. Many of these projects are carried out in collaboration with other centers and groups within the USA (Advanced Science Research Center/CUNY, Air Force Research Laboratory, University of Maryland, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Virginia Tech, Yale) and abroad (CONICET/Argentina, University of Magdeburg/Germany, University of Crete/Greece, CNRS/France, EPFL/France, Ben-Gurion U./Israel, Technion/Israel, King’s College/U.K., University of Lancaster/U.K.)
The effort of the group is funded by various agencies including the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and private funders such as the Simons Foundation.
Details on some of our recent and ongoing research projects can be found under Research.
Featured Publications
Reconfigurable Enhancement of Actuation Forces by Engineered Losses in non-Hermitian Metamaterials – Animation
A. Gupta, A. Kurnosov, T. Kottos, R.Thevamaran
Extreme Mechanics Letters 59, 101979 (2023)
C-Z Wang, R. Kononchuk, U. Kuhl, T. Kottos
Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 123801 (2023)
Noise Resilient Exceptional-Point Voltmeters Enabled by Oscillation Quenching Phenomena
A. Suntharalingam, L. Fernandez-Alcazar, R.Kononchuck, T. Kottos
Nature Communications 14, 5515 (2023)