Axel Schülzgen

Axel Schülzgen is a Professor of Optics at CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida. He also holds an Adjunct Research Professor position at the University of Arizona's College of Optical Sciences. His research focuses on fiber fabrication, nano-structured fibers, nonlinear materials, and applications in fiber lasers, sensing, and communications.

He earned a PhD in Physics from Humboldt-University of Berlin, Germany. His expertise spans optical fiber devices, components, and structures, with a strong emphasis on advancing high-power laser delivery and sensing technologies.

Research Interests:
- Development of hollow-core fibers for low-loss light transmission
- Anti-resonant fiber designs for multi-mode guidance
- Nonlinear optical materials for fiber lasers
- Applications in fiber optic sensing and medical imaging
- Disordered media imaging using optical fibers

Awards & Honors:

• OSA Fellow (Optical Society of America)
• SPIE Fellow (International Society for Optics and Photonics)
• 2021 Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award
• 2015 CREOL Excellence in Research Award

Advising & Labs:
- Current advisees: Ameen Alhalemi, Caleb Dobias, Md Abu Sufian
- Notable alumni: Xiaowen Hu (2022), Stefan Gausmann (2021), and Jian Zhao (2019)
- Research Group: Focuses on fiber fabrication technology, nanotechnology in fibers, and photonics applications