Welcome to the Bali Labs at Miami University

Our research interests are in the following three areas:

Cold trapped atoms and optical lattices

We investigate the dynamics of ultracold atoms confined in an “optical lattice” formed by the superposition of several laser beams. The depth, shape, and spacing of the lattice sites can be freely adjusted by varying the lasers’ intensity, polarization, and frequency, thereby creating a “designer crystal” for applications in the exciting new technologies of Nanolithography and Quantum Computing.
 
Undergraduate and Master's students, who collaborate on these cutting-edge experiments, gain expertise in building state-of-the-art laser and fiber-optic systems, ultrahigh vacuum systems, and sophisticated electronic controls.
 
Visitors to my lab get to see what is popularly referred to in the scientific community as “The Coldest Matter in the Universe” – atoms so cold you can see them moving with your bare eyes!

Here's a package of introductory materials for younglings on cold atom physics...


Optical sensing

A second direction of research we have recently adopted is the optical sensing of turbid media (i.e., non-transparent, highly scattering media such as milk, animal tissue, petroleum products). We are interested in the fundamental aspects of light scattering in turbid media as well as in novel applications in bio and environmental sensing.


Electromagnetically Induced Transparency and Absorption

We investigate, in a particularly simple setup, Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT)
and Electromagnetically Induced Absorption (EIA) in a room-temperature sample of Rubidium gas.

Here's a package of introductory materials for younglings on EIT and slow light...