News
David Smith to Speak at LDV Vision Summit on AI and Materials Science
26 February 2025
Professor Smith will be participating in a panel discussion at the 11th Annual LDV Vision Summit on March 25. The panel will focus on the advancements in AI and visual technologies applied to materials science. David will be joined by distinguished experts, including Dr. Kristin Schmidt (IBM), Dr. Chirranjeevi Gopal (Mitra Chem), and Dr. Amanda Petford-Long (Argonne National Lab). Together, they will explore how generative AI is accelerating material discovery and development, pushing the boundaries of AI-driven materials innovation. The discussion will be moderated by Ash Cleary from LDV Capital. Join us.
Michael Boyarsky Pioneers New Satellite Imaging Technology
15 November 2024
Dr. Michael Boyarsky, a research scientist in Meta group, has developed groundbreaking metamaterial antennas for satellite imaging. His technology boosts image capture from 100 to 10,000 images per day, enabling real-time tracking of Earth within 15 minutes. Boyarsky's invention has wide applications, from monitoring natural disasters to improving agricultural efficiency. He is currently raising $6 million to launch his company, Extellis, and bring his demo satellite to space. Read more.
Metamaterials Commercialization!
29 May 2024
Duke Magazine recently published an article describing the weird science of metamaterials, with a focus on Duke's recent commercialization efforts and the transition of metamaterials from the lab to products. Our group is featured in the story, along with several other Duke faculty who have made significant contributions to the metamaterials field. Read more.
Congratulations to Professor Smith on Fred W. Ellersick Prize Paper Award!
08 May 2024
Our team is thrilled to announce that Nir, George, Mohammadreza, Yonina, and David have been honored with the prestigious Fred W. Ellersick Prize Paper Award for their remarkable research on "Dynamic metasurface antennas for 6G extreme massive MIMO communications" published in IEEE Wireless Communications! Read more.
Prof. Smith Interviewed on NPR Morning Edition
13 July 2015
Professor Smith was interviewed about metamaterials and invisibility cloaks by host Barry Gordemer, in a piece called "Now You See It, Some Day You Won't: Scientists Get Closer To Invisibility." Read more.
Smith Group Appears on The Big Idea
13 July 2015
Professor Smith and the metamaterials lab featured on an episode of Channel News Asia's "The Big Idea", titled "Superhuman." The program is hosted by Justin Bratton and can be found here.
Invisible: The Dangerous Allure of the Unseen
8 April 2014
Philip Ball details the history and mythology of invisibility, with a nicely detailed section on the
metamaterial approach and some of the history surrounding metamaterials. Read more.
NC delegation tour labs
6 November 2013
Three members of the NC delegation to Congress toured research labs and viewed demonstrations of airport security research projects. Read more
Intellectual Ventures Spins Out Evolv
29 August 2013
Intellectual Ventures Spins Out Evolv to Commercialize Metamaterials Security Imaging Technology. Read more.
Exotic optics: Metamaterial world
7 August 2013
Engineered structures with bizarre optical properties are set to migrate out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. Read more.
#WeTheGeeks: The Stuff Superheroes Are Made Of
24 July 2013
Nathan Landy, Graduate student from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Duke University was asked to join the "We the Geeks" Google + hangout. Read more.
Graduate student Nathan Landy participates in "We the Geeks" Whitehouse Google + hangout
24 July 2013
"We the Geeks" is a new series of Google+ Hangouts to highlight the future of science, technology, and innovation here in the United States. Read more.
Becoming Invisible, at Least to Microwaves
12 May 2013
Using an off-the-shelf 3-D printer, nearly anyone can make an "invisibility cloak" to make objects disappear, researchers report. But you should know it works only for microwave radiation, which humans can't see anyway. Read more.
Guy Lipworth awarded Charles Rowe Vail Memorial Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award
16 May 2013
The Charles Rowe Vail Memorial Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award recognizes the most outstanding graduate student teaching assistant in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Read more.
N.C. universities use federal funds for military-related research
24 March 2013
A high-profile research project on Duke's campus is the use of metamaterials - artificially constructed materials with unique electromagnetic properties - to create an "invisibility cloak" that could be used to conceal military equipment. Read more.
Are invisibility cloaks finally here? U-T San Diego interview with Dr. David Smith
27 February 2013
Dr. David Smith returned to his alma mater, the University of California San Diego, where he earned his PhD in physics to present a lecture to the public about cloaking research. Read more.
Kymeta listed as one of the "50 Disruptive Companies" by MIT Technology Review
25 February 2013
Kymeta made the 2013 list of "50 Disruptic Companies" for innovative reseach - developing relatively small antennas, used to replace satellite dishes so planes and trains can get better broadband service. Read more
Novel Sensor Provides Bigger Picture
18 January 2013
Duke University engineers have developed a novel “sensor” that is more efficient, versatile, and cheaper for potential use in such applications as airport security scanners, and collision avoidance systems for aircraft, cars or maritime vessels. Read more.
Smith Awarded 2013 McGroddy Prize for New Materials
December 2012
Professor David Smith has been awarded the 2013 James C. McGroddy Prize of APS for New Materials sponsored by IBM together with Drs. John B. Pendry, Imperial College and Costas M. Soukoulis, Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University. Read more.
Hiding in Plain Sight
18 November 2012
Invisibility is an illusion, a way of manipulating light so that a hidden object cannot be perceived. In the same way that magicians use mirrors to make things disappear, we can now use metamaterials. In a recent editorial piece published in the Gray Matter section of the Sunday edition of the New York Times, David Smith and Nathan Landy provide a perspective on the parallels of achieving invisibility through magic and through science. Read the article here.
Duke Cloaking Research Mentioned on the Colbert Report
13 November, 2012
The metamaterials group and the Duke Quidditch team appreciate Stephen Colbert's reporting on recent publication regarding the development of a new invisibility cloak. Noted Colbert, "...now the Blue Devils quidditch team will be unstoppable!" Watch the clip at Duke on Demand.
Probing the Ultimate Limits of Plasmonic Enhancement earns SCIENCE Cover
August 2012
Postdoc Cristian Ciraci and team earned the cover of SCIENCE Magazine in August, 2012 Vol. 337 no. 6098 pp. 1072-1074 with "Probing the Ultimate Limits of Plasmonic Enhancement"
Smith Finalist for World Technology Network Award
5 December 2010
David Smith has been selected as a finalist in the World Technology Network's World Technology Awards, in the category of Materials: Individual. The awards are given to those who "...are doing the innovative work of 'the greatest likely long-term significance' in their fields.
Duke Cloak Featured on Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention
7 November 2009
The Duke "invisibility cloak" was featured on Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention, a BBC series highlighting inventors and invention. Sir John Pendry is interviewed about the conception and operation of the cloak on the episode "Come to Your Senses," which aired on BBC1 at 7:30 pm, November 24.
Smith Selected by Thomson Reuters as a Citation Laureate for 2009
24 September 2009
David R. Smith, along with Sir John Pendry from Imperial College and Sheldon Schultz from U. C. San Diego, have been selected among the twenty-five "Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates" for 2009. The Citation Laureates are recognized for their contribution to the advancement of science. Since 2002, 15 Citation Laureates have gone on to win Nobel Prizes. The Citation Laureates typically rank among the top one-tenth of one percent of researchers in their fields, based on citations of their published papers over the last two or three decades.
Transformation Optics for Reducing Lens Profile
5 September 2009
In a paper published in Optics Express (September 14, 2009 issue), Dan Roberts and co-authors illustrate the use of the transformation optical approach to reduce the profile of a lens or other optical device. Though the gradient index materials specified by the transformation may render the reduction difficult to achieve in practice, the results nevertheless show the potential of applying the transformation optical technique to improve conventional devices in unconventional ways.
Transformation Optics MURI Awarded
20 June 2009
A joint team led by Duke University has been awarded a Multiple University Research Initiative on the topic of Transformation Optics. The award is sponsored by the Army Research Office (ARO), and includes team members from Purdue University, UC Berkeley, NC State University and Imperial College, London.
Electromagnetic source transformations: Cover story in Applied Physics Letters
11 May 2009
Transformation optics can be used to design media with unique properties for the manipulation of electromagnetic waves. The transformation optical approach can be used not only to control the path of light, but also to change the way that currents and charges (or sources) behave when they interact with light. The interaction of electromagnetic waves is fundamental in the design of antennas. In the latest issue of Applied Physics Letters, Jeffery Allen and colleagues demonstrate several examples of transforming space in the presence of sources to make interesting radiating structures.
Dan Roberts wins Hertz Fellowship for postgraduate study in the physical sciences
11 May 2009
Dan Roberts was awarded a Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowship. The Hertz Fellowship is merit based and widely considered to be one of the most prestigious graduate fellowships awarded. The fellowship provides approximately $250,000 of support over a five year tenure. One of the goals is to provide financial independence for fellows, allowing them to pursue innovative research as per their own interests. Dan will defer his fellowship for two years to study in the UK as a Marshall Scholar.
Smith lab featured in Wall Street Journal
13 March 2009
Our work is featured in a story published in the Science Journal of the Wall Street Journal. The story, "Behold the Appearance of the Invisibility Cloak," is by Robert Lee Hotz and can be found here.
Feature story in Discover Magazine
10 March 2009
An extensive article regarding metamaterials, by Fred Hapgood, has been published in the April issue of Discover Magazine. "Metamaterial Revolution: The New Science of Making Anything Disappear," describes a brief history of metamaterials and includes discussion of our most recent work. See the article here.
Cloaking mentioned on The Tonight Show
19 January 2009
Our work on cloaking mentioned in Jay Leno's monologue on The Tonight Show.
Broadband cloaking with new metamaterial structure
15 January 2009
Our most recent experiment confirms that objects on a mirror--or ground plane--can be hidden from detection by a metamaterial 'cloak.' The latest work, based on a theoretical prediction by Li and Pendry, illustrates some of the progress that has been achieved over the last two years of research (published in Science, January 16, 2009).
