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P. James Schuck

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

P. James Schuck specializes in studying, sensing and engineering phenomena emerging from nanostructures, interfaces and quantum materials, with a focus on developing and applying advanced nano-optical probes, nonlinear materials, and plasmonic and quantum devices.

With his research he aims to characterize, understand, and control light-matter interactions at the level of single photons and electrons.

Schuck was a postdoctoral student at Stanford University and a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

He received his PhD in 2003 from Yale University and his BA in 1997 from UC Berkeley.

Research Areas

  • Energy Systems
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Micro/Nanotechnology (MEMS)
  • 2D Materials
  • Energy Harvesting (Conversion) and Storage
  • Micro and Nanoscale Engineering
  • Smart Materials and Structures
  • Quantum Materials
  • Quantum Photonics
  • Quantum Optics
  • Quantum Device Design
  • Optical Sensors

Additional Information

  • Professional Experience
    • Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, 2017-
    • Facility Director, Imaging and Manipulation Facility, Molecular Foundry, LBNL (2011-2017)
    • Senior Scientist, Imaging and Manipulation Facility, Molecular Foundry, LBNL, 2016-2017
    • Staff Scientist, Imaging and Manipulation Facility, Molecular Foundry, LBNL, 2006-2016
  • Honors & Awards
    • Chair and Organizer of the 2023 Gordon Research Conference on UCNPs
    • 2023 Keynote Speaker, 20th International Conference on Luminescence (ICL)
    • 2021 Plenary Speaker, SPIE Optics + Photonics, San Diego, CA
    • 2019 Plenary Speaker, Ramanfest 2019, Oxford, UK
    • 2018 Keynote Speaker, UpCon 18
    • Selected to 2014 LBNL/Haas Business School Emerging Leader Program
    • 2013 LBNL Director’s Award for Exceptional Achievement
    • 2013 R&D Magazine’s “R&D 100” Awardee
    • 2003 NRC Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, NIST Boulder (declined)
    • 1998 Yale Applied Physics Special Fellowship
  • Education
    • PhD, Applied Physics, Yale University
    • MS, Applied Physics, Yale University
    • BA, Physics, U.C. Berkeley