Current Members
Primary Investigator
Dr. David R. Smith is the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Duke University, where he also serves as Director for the Center of Metamaterials and Integrated Plasmonics. Dr. Smith is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Physics Department at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and is a Visiting Professor in the Physics Department at Imperial College, London. Dr. Smith's research has been focused on advanced electromagnetic materials and composites, including photonic crystals and metamaterials.
Research Staff
Dr. Michael Boyarsky is a research scientist specializing on dynamically reconfigurable metasurfaces. His current focus lies in developing metasurface antennas for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) applications. His other research interests include microwave computational imaging systems and wireless power transfer devices. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University and his B.S. in Physics from Boston College. He received his M.S. in mechanical engineering from Marquette University.
Dr. Yeonghoon Noh is a post-doctoral research associate studying design and analysis of active-type metasurface-based antennas. His current research interests include computational electromagnetics based on integral equations, radar image retrieval based on scattering center modeling and design of multi-functional reconfigurable metasurface-based antennas. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Yonsei University, South Korea in 2017 and 2023, respectively.
Joining Metagroup
We welcome inquiries from undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral associates, visiting researchers and technical associates interested in participating in our research group! We are a dynamic team with active interests in all forms of metamaterial research, plasmonics, transformation optics, and cloaking, spanning the electromagnetic spectrum from radio and microwaves to visible light. We maintain a close connection with applied aspects of this research, usually pursuing proof-of-concept device implementations in parallel with the science. Positions within the group and the Center for Metamaterials and Integrated Plasmonics depend on funding and space availability. Please see our Positions page for the most recent information on available positions.
Graduate Students
Chloe Petrosino is a Ph.D. student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at Duke University. She received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering (with a minor in physics) from the University of Florida in 2023. Her research interests include using metasurface devices for optical/ IR applications in sensing, beam steering, and more. She is passionate about the utilization of metasurface devices for space exploration applications.
Dojeon Jung received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea, in 2022 and 2024, respectively. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree at Duke University. His research interests include metasurface-based WPT systems and transceivers.
Affiliates
Dr. Aaron Diebold is a collaborator with the Smith Lab (Meta Group) and Principal Scientist at Resolv Technology, a startup company that uses metamaterial technology to look inside walls. His work centers on active and passive computational microwave imaging and the design of reconfigurable metasurfaces. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Duke University in 2020 and continues to work closely with the group on advanced metasurface technologies.
Dr. Divya Pande is a Research Scientist at Metacept Inc. and a collaborator with the Smith Lab (Meta Group). She specializes in advancing next-generation technologies that build on the lab’s pioneering metamaterial research. Dr. Pande earned her Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Duke University as part of the Meta Group, where she developed deep expertise in metamaterials research and development using inverse design techniques. Her current work centers on space-based metasurface systems for Earth observation and broader space applications, while she continues to actively engage in collaborative projects with the group.
Former Members
Elizabeth Keys
2019 - 2025
Graduate Student (Duke)
Siwei Wan
2023 - 2025
Graduate Student (Duke)
Insang Yoo
2021 - 2023
Graduate Student (Duke)
Postdoctoral Associate (Duke)
Research Scientist (Duke)
Assistant Professor, Yonsei University Seoul South Korea
Xander Deputy
2016 - 2022
Graduate Student (Duke)
Senior Scientist, Northrop Grumman
Evan Stump
2016 - 2022
Graduate Student (Duke)
Kenneth Parker Trofatter
2015 - 2022
Graduate Student (Duke)
Scientist, Vadum Inc
Xiaomeng Jia
2015 - 2021
Graduate Student (Duke)
Postdoc fellow, Cornell University
Mohammadreza F. Imani
2015 - 2020
Research Scientist (Duke)
Assitant Professor, Arizona State University
Vinay Gowda
2014 - 2019
Graduate Student (Duke)
Signal Integrity Engineer,Intel Corporation
Zhiqin Huang
2014 - 2019
Graduate Student (Duke)
Researcher, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
Roberto Zecca
2014 - 2019
Graduate Student (Duke)
Engineering and simulations consultant, Freelance
Xiaojun Liu
2013 - 2018
Graduate Student (Duke)
Applied Scientist, Microsoft
Laura Pulido-Mancera
2014 - 2018
Graduate Student (Duke)
Senior Research And Development Engineer, Lumotive
Tim Sleasman
2013 - 2018
Graduate Student (Duke)
Senior Researcher,The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Nick Caira
2016 - 2017
Graduate Student (Duke)
Guy Lipworth
August 2010 - December 2015
Intellectual Ventures
Chris Bingham
2015 - 2016
Research Associate (Duke)
Research and Development Engineer, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University
Hayrettin Odabasi
September 2015
Christos Argyropoulos
August 2014
Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Thomas Fromenteze
2014 - 2016
University of Limoges, Faculty
Patrick Bowen
2014 - 2019
Graduate Student (Duke)
Research Scientist (Duke)
Neurophos, founder and CEO
Alexandre Baron
2014 - 2015
Postdoctoral Researcher (Duke)
University of Bordeaux, Faculty
Tomas Zvolensky
2013 - 2016
Postdoctoral researcher (Duke)
Optotune, Marketing Manager
Okan Yurduseven
2013 - 2017
postdoctoral researcher, research scientist (Duke)
Reader (Associate Professor), School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Queen's University, Belfast, Ireland
Vinh Nguyen
April 2013 - May 2014
Graduate and appointed Postdoc
Wangren Xu
May 2013 - February 2014
John Hunt
December 2013
Echodyne
Shizhe Shen
January 2013 - May 2014
PhD Student
Britt Lassiter
September 2013 - December 2014
Gleb Akselrod
2013 - 2015
postdoctoral researcher (Duke)
Intellectual Ventures, Senior Scientist
Lumotive Corporation, co-founder and CTO
Alec Rose
October, 2013
Evolv
Nathan Landy
October, 2013
Intellectual Ventures
Yu-Ju Tsai
June 2013 - August 2013
After PhD student
Cristian Ciraci
May 2012 - February 2014
postdoctoral researcher (Duke)
Instituto Italiano de Tecnologia, Senior Researcher
Tom Driscoll
October 2010 - January 2013
Intellectual Ventures
Yaroslav Urzhumov
2009 - 2014
Metamaterial Inc., program manager
Da Huang
September 2007 - May 2013
Mathworks
Ekaterina Poutrina
October 2007 - December 2012
Jeffery Allen
May 2007- May 2011
Airforce Research Labs
Nathan Kundtz
January 2008 - June 2010
Intellectual Ventures
Kymeta Corp., founder and CTO
rendered.ai, founder and CEO
Stephane Larouche
2007 - 2015
Postdoctoral Researcher (Duke)
Research Faculty (Duke)
Northrop Grumman, NG Next, Senior Scientist
Soji Sajuyigbe
July 2006 - May 2010
Intel,
Applications Engineer
Fabrizia Ghezzo
July 2008 - October 2009
Kuang-Chi Institute,
Senior Scientist
Cameron Harrison
June 2007 - October 2008
Proctor and Gamble,
Senior Scientist
Ruopeng Liu
August 2006 - December 2009
Kuang-Chi Institute,
President
Aloyse Degiron
October 2004 - May 2009
Universite Paris-Sud and CNRS
Orsay, France,
Junior Professor
Marco Rahm
September 2006 - September 2008
Universitat Kaiserslautern,
Junior Professor of Physics
Dan Roberts
September 2006 - June 2009
Massachussetts Institute of Technology,
Graduate Student
Bryan Justice
August 2005 - February 2007
SensorMetrix,
Staff Engineer
Jonah Gollub
October 2004 - October 2008, graduate student (Duke)
Phoebus Optoelectronics, Physicist
2013 - 2021, research scientist (Duke)
Metacept Inc., co-founder and COO
Irradiant Technologies, research scientist
Jack Mock
October 2004 - July 2013
Associate in Research (Duke)
David Schurig
October 2004 - August 2007
University of Utah,
Electrical Engineering Department,
Associate Professor
