Halleh B. Balch

Halleh B. Balch is an Assistant Professor of Oceans at Stanford University's Doerr School of Sustainability, joining in Summer 2025. She holds a PhD from UC Berkeley (2019) and undergraduate degrees in physics and literature from Swarthmore College (2012). Her research focuses on nanophotonics for ocean sustainability, including real-time detection of harmful algal blooms and environmental DNA (e-DNA) analysis. She leads the Balch Lab, which develops optical sensors for marine monitoring in collaboration with institutions like MBARI and NOAA.

Major awards include the HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellowship and NSF Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship. Her work spans interdisciplinary fields like quantum optics, nanomaterials, and climate science. Key collaborations include projects on graphene-based electric field sensors and nanophotonic environmental sensors.

Research interests include: nanoscale light-matter interactions, marine microbial metabolism, and bioelectric field imaging. Current projects involve in situ sensors for autonomous underwater vehicles and high-throughput e-DNA detection using silicon nanophotonics.