Jennifer Herek

Prof. Jennifer Herek is a faculty member in the Faculty of Science and Technology, specializing in advanced optical materials and photonics. Her research focuses on rare-earth-doped laser materials, waveguide amplifiers, and nonlinear optical phenomena. Key contributions include studies on energy transfer dynamics in doped tungstate crystals, temperature-dependent gain mechanisms, and femtosecond spectroscopic imaging techniques. She has pioneered work on high-gain optical amplifiers operating in the telecom C-band and developed novel methods for characterizing material properties using confocal microscopy and spectroscopy.

• Research Highlights:
  • Design of potassium double tungstate-based waveguide amplifiers
  • Optimization of optical gain in erbium- and ytterbium-doped materials
  • Pioneering femtosecond chemical reaction mapping
  • Development of temperature-stable laser materials
• Awards: Posterprijs (2012) for contributions to photonic crystal waveguide research
• Professional Engagement: Over 20 supervised works and 23 conference presentations on topics including high-harmonic generation and plasmonic antenna arrays

Her lab integrates experimental and theoretical approaches to address challenges in optical materials, with applications in telecommunications, medical imaging, and quantum optics.