Rashid Zia

Rashid Zia is the Dean of the College and a Professor of Engineering and Physics at Brown University. As Dean, he oversees undergraduate academic affairs, including advising, curriculum, and study abroad programs. He holds a dual A.B./Sc.B. in English and Electrical Engineering from Brown (2001) and an M.S./Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University (2006). His research bridges electrical engineering, materials science, and optical physics, focusing on light-matter interactions and photonic device innovation. Key projects include the Air Force Quantum Metaphotonics MURI program and NSF CAREER Award-winning work on magnetic dipole emitters.

Zia is a strong advocate for liberal education, having served as a National Forum Fellow on Liberal Education and received teaching accolades like the Philip J. Bray Award. His lab (www.zia-lab.com) develops computational tools for photonics and promotes open educational datasets. Major honors include the PECASE (highest U.S. early-career scientist award) and Optical Society Fellowship.

Research emphasizes integrating computation and experimentation to advance photonic devices while addressing higher education accessibility. Recent work explores perovskite materials, plasmonic nanostructures, and quantum emitter technologies. Over 15 years, his publications span nano-optics, metamaterials, and energy-efficient photonic systems.

• Awards: PECASE, NSF CAREER, Optical Society Fellow, Brown Teaching Excellence Awards
• Grants: $15M+ MURI program (2015-2021), Air Force Office of Scientific Research
• Labs/Teams: Zia Lab (multi-institutional collaboration), Quantum Metaphotonics group