Alex Y. Song

Alex Y. Song is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, affiliated with the School of Electrical and Information Engineering and the Sydney Nano Institute. His research bridges theoretical and experimental studies in nanophotonics, topological materials, quantum photonics, non-Hermitian physics, and thermal photonics, with applications in integrated devices, sustainable energy, and information processing.

• Education: Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (Princeton, 2014), M.S. in Electronic Engineering (Tsinghua, 2009), B.S. in Mathematics and Physics (Tsinghua, 2006).

His work focuses on nanophotonics, including plasmonic couplers, photonic crystals, and metasurfaces for controlling light-matter interactions. Recent efforts emphasize quantum topological photonics, radiative cooling textiles, and nonreciprocal photonic devices. Collaborations span institutions like Stanford and Princeton.

Key trends include leveraging photonic band structures (e.g., Dirac-cone perturbations), dynamic modulation in nonreciprocal systems, and sustainable material design for thermal management. He employs rigorous coupled-wave analysis, finite-difference time-domain simulations, and inverse design methods.

• Grants: 2025 Perceptive quantum sensors (Office of National Intelligence), 2024 Reflective Flat Metalens (Nano Institute), 2023 Fragility in Topological Photonics (AOARD).

He mentors Ph.D. students in projects like nanophotonic control of broadband radiation and electroactive scaffolds, while contributing to open-source software (Inkstone, T-Dyno). Outreach includes pre-college science programs and conference exhibitions.