Mohammed Islam

Mohammed Islam is a Full Tenured Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He holds joint appointments in the Biomedical Engineering Department and the University of Michigan Medical School, Department of Internal Medicine. His research focuses on supercontinuum lasers and their applications in healthcare, defense, and photonics. He has pioneered advancements in nonlinear optics, Raman amplifiers, and fiber laser technology, with over 135 refereed publications and 145 patents. His entrepreneurial ventures include companies like Xtera Communications and Omni MedSci, commercializing technologies for telecommunications, healthcare, and national security. Key awards include the OSA Adolf Lomb Medal (1992), IEEE Fellow (2004), and the Distinguished University Innovator Award (2007).

Education: B.S., M.S., and Sc.D. in Electrical Engineering from MIT (1981–1985). Professional experience includes roles at AT&T Bell Laboratories (1985–1992) and leadership in academic and industrial innovation. Research themes include non-invasive glucose monitoring, cancer tissue discrimination, and 3D printing with supercontinuum lasers. He teaches courses on photonics, entrepreneurship, and patent law.

His group’s work spans biomedical applications (e.g., visceral fat ablation for diabetes treatment), defense-related active remote sensing, and high-power mid-IR supercontinuum lasers. Ongoing projects include functional near-infrared spectroscopy via nasal catheters and enhancing additive manufacturing with SWIR lasers.