Apratim Majumder received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Utah in 2014 and 2018, respectively. He is currently a Research Assistant Professor (Nov 2020 onward) at the University of Utah.
His research interests and areas of expertise include optics, photonics and nanotechnology. He is currently responsible for the development of (1) ultra-flat optics like flat lenses, holograms, (2) novel nanophotonic device design methodologies and (3) the experimental characterization of snapshot hyper-spectral imaging based on diffractive optical elements.
Ultra flat optics like flat lenses and holograms that are a fraction of the width of a human hair and many times lighter than their traditional refractive counterparts, while possessing uniquely designed properties such as super-achromaticity, extreme depths of field, etc. have been made possible using inverse design and grayscale microfabrication technologies developed at the University of Utah. These flat optics have a wide range of applications from microscopy, photography to security systems, lightweight cameras for aerial photography and projection optics.
Ultra-compact silicon nanophotonic devices have the potential of drastically reducing the footprint of photonic circuits leading to large scale integration of photonic elements on integrated circuits.
Snapshot Hyperspectral Imaging has wide reaching applications from agriculture to biological studies with the potential to make hyper-spectral cameras inexpensive and readily available.
Previously, Apratim was involved in the research and development of tunable focus liquid filled lenses for applications in adaptive optics, developed at the University of Utah and commercialized by a startup venture, SharpEyes LLC, where, he served as Chief Engineer.
Apratim's doctoral research project focused on the development of a nanolithographic technique named absorbance modulation which employed photo-switchable compounds and dual wavelength exposure systems to achieve nanoscale patterning beyond the optical diffraction limit.
He has co-authored 24 peer reviewed journal articles and numerous conference presentations, of which some have been amongst the highest read and cited publications for their respective journals. His work related to flat optics has also been covered in the news media. He has assisted in securing funding to a number of projects as well as been personally been awarded the University of Utah College of Engineering Seed Grant ($36,000 for 1 year) to conduct preliminary investigation in the development of tunable flat optics for applications in consumer eyewear and to gather preliminary data for writing proposals in the future.
Apratim is an active member of the Optical Society of America and has served as a reviewer to over 75 scientific journal articles and been recognized by the society with best paper and outstanding reviewer recognitions.