Vasily Astratov

Vasily Astratov is a Professor of Physics and Optical Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte). He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the Russian Academy of Sciences' A.F. Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute (1986). His career includes roles as a research scientist, group leader, and senior staff member at the Ioffe Institute before joining UNC Charlotte in 2002.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg (1986)
• Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Sheffield (1997–2001)

Research Interests: Astratov’s work focuses on photonic crystals, microspherical photonics, super-resolution microscopy, and resonant light forces. He pioneered studies of synthetic opals as photonic crystals and developed super-resolution imaging techniques using high-index microspheres. His research has applications in imaging subcellular structures and nanoplasmonic systems.

Awards & Recognition:

• Recipient of international visitor awards from institutions including LabEx NanoSaclay (2017), C2N Paris (2016), and EPSRC (2006)
• Delivered 35 invited conference talks and 60 invited seminars

Teaching & Service: Teaches OPTI 6103/8103: Light Sources & Detectors. Served as a topical editor for Optics Express (2005–2011) and committee member for conferences like CLEO, IEEE Photonics, and OSA Advanced Photonics Congress. Organized workshops on label-free super-resolution imaging.

Labs & Teams: Leads a research group at UNC Charlotte focused on photonics and optical science, building on his prior work at the Ioffe Institute and University of Sheffield.