Matthew Y. Sfeir

Matthew Y. Sfeir is an Associate Professor of Physics at The Graduate Center, CUNY, and a member of the Photonics Initiative at the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC). He specializes in ultrafast spectroscopy and nanophotonics, focusing on energy-conversion materials and optoelectronic devices. His research integrates advanced characterization techniques to study functional properties of macromolecular and nanoscale materials.

Education: B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago (2000), Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from Columbia University (2005), followed by postdoctoral research at Brookhaven National Laboratory. He previously held roles at Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials.

Research Interests: His work emphasizes enabling technologies for next-generation devices, leveraging ultrafast laser techniques to investigate electronic properties and dynamical processes in materials. Key areas include singlet fission, energy harvesting, and photonic applications of nanomaterials. He also develops high-throughput spectroscopic tools for materials discovery.

Awards: Recipient of the 2018 Inventor of the Year award from Battelle for contributions to scientific innovation. He serves on editorial and advisory boards, including the American Chemical Society’s Energy Subdivision and Review of Scientific Instruments.

Advising and Collaborations: Advised doctoral students such as Dr. Yamuna Paudel (now at Intel) and Dr. Guiying He (moving to Carnegie Mellon University). Collaborates widely with chemists, material scientists, and theorists to advance energy technologies. His lab, SfeirLab, utilizes state-of-the-art facilities at the ASRC, including ultrafast spectroscopy and nanophotonics instrumentation.

Labs/Teams: Directs SfeirLab, which focuses on ultrafast and optoelectronic spectroscopy. The lab’s facilities include advanced lasers, nanofabrication tools, and computational resources for interdisciplinary research.