Zongfu Yu

Zongfu Yu is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's College of Engineering, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. His research bridges photonics, quantum optics, and machine learning, with a focus on nanophotonic devices and computational methods.

• PhD (2009) and MS (2008) from Stanford University
• BS (2004) from University of Science and Technology of China

Yu's work spans Nanophotonics (metasurfaces, quantum cascade lasers), Radiative Cooling (spectral-selective architectures), and Optical Computing (photonic systolic arrays, coherence-based recognition). Recent projects include leveraging Machine Learning for inverse design of photonic systems and exploring Anderson localization in 3D electromagnetic waves.

His publications highlight trends in computational photonics and quantum-classical hybrid systems. Articles focus on GPU-accelerated simulations, metasurface optimization, and nonlinear nanophotonic devices for neural computing.

• 2024: Grainger Professorship (UW-Madison)
• 2021: H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowship
• 2020: Optica Fellow
• 2018-2024: Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher
• 2018: NSF CAREER Award
• 2017: DARPA Young Faculty Award

Yu teaches graduate courses in computational electromagnetics and independent study, supervising research at all levels. His grants include NSF CAREER and DARPA funding, supporting innovations in photonic simulations and quantum emitter modeling.