Our Team

Dr. Liao is Associate Professor of Physics at Indiana University Bloomington.

Dr. Liao received his BS degree in Space Science and MS in Physics at National Central University in Taiwan. After working in the semiconductor and imaging industry as an engineer for two years, he came to the US to study optics. He received his PhD in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona in 2017, and he then became a postdoc researcher at JILA, a joint research institute at the University of Colorado Boulder and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). In 2021, he became a research scientist at JILA Institute and also served as Assistant Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer at STROBE, an NSF Science & Technology Center. Prof. Liao joined the Department of Physics at Indiana University (IU) Bloomington in late 2023 as a Associate Professor of Physics. Dr. Liao is the Finalist of two PhD thesis awards, including the 2018 WAGS-ProQuest Innovation in Technology Award and the 2019 American Physical Society (APS) Carl E. Anderson Division of Laser Science Dissertation Award. He was selected as the 2022 APS Career Mentoring Fellow and he is the 2024 Career Connections Fellow, from College of Arts and Sciences, IU Bloomington. Dr. Liao received the 2023 Air Force Young Investigator Award. He is also the 2024 (inaugural) Faculty Innovation Ambassador of Indiana University. 

Dr. Hsiao-Chih Huang

Postdoctoral Researcher

(Joint between Prof. Liao's group (in Physics) and Prof. Leung's group (in ISE; Intelligent Systems Engineering)

Ph.D. in Physics, National Taiwan University

Dr. Huang has devoted himself to two research topics of optical orbital angular momentum and photon quantum entanglement since his PhD career at National Taiwan University. After receiving his PhD certificate, he spent 13 years of his academic careers in Taiwan, South Africa and the Czech Republic, working on several projects in the fields of quantum optics, nonlinear optics, ultrafast optics, optical microscopy, and quantum sensing. Additionally, during these academic careers, he held various short-term senior optical engineer positions in the photonics and laser industries. He is currently working on a multidisciplinary project, integrating his previous research topics, at Indiana University Bloomington.

Dr. Sanjit Karmakar

Postdoctoral Researcher

Ph.D. in Applied Physics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Sanjit received his Ph.D. in Applied Physics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), USA, performing experimental research mainly on quantum ghost imaging using both spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) and thermal light sources.  After completion of his PhD degree,  he worked  on  quantum microscopy and quantum network, specifically generation of entanglement for quantum networking.  He had  also performed experimental research on nano-laser and super-luminescent single photon emitter based on perovskite nano-palletts, Very recently, he worked on ghost imaging and SPDC process using hard X-rays at both Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, USA and Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, USA. Currently, he is working in quantum VUV and EUV light generation at the Department of Physics, Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA. Outside his research and  academic activities, he likes to play tennis and soccer. He also enjoys swimming, hiking and running. 

Dr. Fatemeh Mostafavikhatam

Postdoctoral Researcher

(Joint between Prof. Liao's group (in Physics) and Prof. Leung's group (in ISE; Intelligent Systems Engineering)

Ph.D. in Physics, Louisiana State University

Fatemeh received her B.Sc. in Solid State and a M.Sc. in Fundamental Physics. She also earned her second master's at the University of Texas. She went on to earn her Ph.D. in Physics from Louisiana State University, where she conducted both theoretical and experimental research in quantum imaging, sensing, and communication. Her work focused on free-space optics and plasmonic platforms utilizing both coherent and thermal sources. After completing her Ph.D., she joined Iowa State University as a postdoctoral researcher, working on a quantum imaging project based on SPDC sources. Currently, she is involved in a quantum imaging project with undetected photons, which explores advanced methods in quantum optics and nonlinear interferometry.

Dr. Dina Eissa

Postdoctoral Researcher

Ph.D. in Chemical Physics, The Ohio State University

Dina earned her B.S. in Physics and Chemistry, with a minor in Philosophy, from the American University in Cairo, and completed her Ph.D. in Chemical Physics at The Ohio State University. She conducted her doctoral research in the Agostini–DiMauro group, focusing on strong-field physics and its applications to study molecular dynamics. During her Ph.D., she designed, built, and successfully tested a time-of-flight end-station that was intended from the outset to become part of the NeXUS user facility at Ohio State. The system was initially developed and operated in the Agostini–DiMauro lab, where she carried out experiments using strong-field rescattering to probe ultrafast molecular dynamics. It was later relocated to NeXUS to support facility users. Outside the lab, Dina is a long-distance runner and has completed four marathons. She also enjoys swimming, hiking, photography, and reading about the history and philosophy of science.

Dr. Amr Hossameldin

Postdoctoral Researcher

Ph.D. in Physics, University of Virginia

Amr received his B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Science and Technology at Zewail City in Egypt. He then went on to complete his M.A. and Ph.D. in experimental quantum optics at the University of Virginia. His worked focused on quantum sources and detectors for quantum information. Specifically, he worked on high-gain optical parametric oscillators as sources for squeezed states and entangled photon pairs. He also worked on photon number resolving detectors, namely the transition edge sensor. Together with his group, he managed to set a world record for photon number resolution (100). Currently, he is working on bright squeezed vacuum and its applications. In his free time, Amr likes to lift and read. 

Jessica Stevens

Research Administrative Assistant

B.A. in East Asian Language & Culture, Indiana University Bloomington

Jessica Stevens grew up in Bloomington, Indiana and graduated from Indiana University with a degree in East Asian Languages & Cultures. She had the opportunity to live abroad in Japan as a student and as an English language teacher with the JET program. Afterwards, she spent some time in Marketing and Training-related roles at a Fortune 500 company before beginning classes for a career transition into Speech Pathology. In her free time, Jessica enjoys studying Japanese, reading, playing video games, and watching documentaries.

Ashley Driesbach

Ph.D. student in physics, Indiana University Bloomington

B.S. in Chemistry, Minor in Physics, Pennsylvania State University

Ashley grew up in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Chemistry. In her undergraduate career, she conducted physics education research and earned her honors in physics from the Scheyer Honors College. After graduating in spring 2024, she joined the Liao Lab in the fall of 2024 as a Ph.D. student in Physics. Outside the lab and the classroom, Ashley enjoys reading, dancing, and baking. 

Ashelee Collier

Bridge program MS student in physics, Indiana University Bloomington

B.S. Mathematics, State University of New York (SUNY) New Paltz

B.A. Visual Arts, French, SUNY Plattsburgh

Details are coming soon.

Karel Veselský

Visiting Scholar

PhD candidate, Department of Laser Physics and Photonics, 

Czech Technical University in Prague

Karel grew up in Prague, Czech Republic, and received his M.S. in Physical Engineering from the Czech Technical University in Prague, where he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. and working as a researcher. His main research interests are solid-state lasers, new active media (his dissertation focuses on thulium-doped fluorites), and thermal effects. He enjoys teaching laser laboratory courses and tutorial on the quantum physics of lasers. Outside of the lab, Karel likes to spend time with his wife and two daughters. He also enjoys fencing, playing the piano and guitar, travelling and photography.

Elvin Cordero Figueroa

Bridge program MS student in physics, Indiana University Bloomington

B.S. Applied Physics to Electronics, University of Puerto Rico-Humacao

Elvin Cordero grew up in Humacao, Puerto Rico and graduated from the University of Puerto Rico-Humacao cum laude with a B.S in Applied Physics to Electronics. As an undergraduate student he worked as a research assistant, studying materials science and participated in different undergraduate research internships at various universities. He began his graduate studies at IU Bloomington in fall 2023 in the physics department's Bridge program. He joined the Liao Lab in the winter of 2023. Outside of the lab and his academic activities he enjoys reading science fiction and fantasy novels and likes board games (he currently wants to learn how to play Go). He also enjoys contact sports and fishing.

Bryce Jobe

B.S. in physics and computer science (2025), Indiana University Bloomington

Bryce Jobe grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After graduating high school, he began his studies at Indiana University Bloomington, where he is currently completing a B.S. in physics. He joined the Liao lab in the beginning of May 2024. Aside from school, Bryce spends a lot of time developing his Catholic faith and training for his cycling team. Bryce graduated from IUB in 2025 summer.

Dhruvi Kapadia 

M.S. in Physics-Quantum Computing, University of Wisconsin Madison

Dhruvi grew up in India, where her fascination with physics began. She earned her bachelor's degree in electronics and communication, exploring the connections between computation, circuits, and the physical world. This curiosity led her to pursue quantum technology, where she could delve deeper into physics and engineer quantum systems. After completing her master's in physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she joined the Liao Lab in 2024 to explore quantum optics and AMO physics. Outside of her work, Dhruvi enjoys playing and learning different musical instruments.

Kyle Schauer

BS. in applied physics (2025), Wheaton College (Illinois).

Kyle Schauer grew up in Wheaton, Illinois before attending college at Wheaton College (IL.) and pursuing a B.S. in Applied Physics. He joined the Liao Lab as a part of the Summer 2024 Undergraduate Research Program (REU).

Maxwell Woehler

Undergraduate student in physics, Indiana University Bloomington

Maxwell Woehler is a second-year undergraduate studying math and physics. He joined the Liao Lab for the summer of 2024, and this will be his first time working in a lab. In his free time, he enjoys writing music and skateboarding. 

Prof. Hui Min Leung 

Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University Bloomington.

Dr. Leung is an expert in imaging science and biomedical imaging technologies. She continues to advance the frontiers of imaging technologies through innovative optical engineering. Leung research group website: https://sites.google.com/view/leunggroup/

She is the co-PI of the DOE-funded project on "Exploring quantum mimicry via classically entangled light for enhanced bioimaging."

Kefu Mu 

(Leung research group)

PhD student in Intelligent Systems Engineering, Indiana University Bloomington

Balajee Devesha Srinivasan

Research Associate

(Joint between Prof. Leung's group (ISE; Intelligent Systems Engineering) and Prof. Liao's group (in Physics).

MS in Data Science, Indiana University Bloomington.