PHILADELPHIA — Nader Engheta received the 2012 IEEE Electromagnetics Award at a ceremony Wednesday evening in Chicago. He is the H. Nedwill Ramsey Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering and professor of bioengineering in the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Engheta was honored for his "contributions to electromagnetic theory and applications of metamaterials and nanoscale optics."

“I am very honored and humbled to receive this award from the IEEE,” Engheta said. “It has been the culmination of years of continuous work my colleagues and I have been doing. It’s very exciting.”    

Engheta's research activities span a broad range of areas involving the physics of fields and waves. He is a leading figure in the field of metamaterials, which combines physics, engineering and nanotechnology to bend and manipulate waves in ways that natural materials cannot. 

His contributions to the field during the past year came from several high-profile papers on metamaterials, including one that outlines the possibility of “two dimensional” metamaterials using electrical fields on a sheet of carbon atoms and another that demonstrates an “invisible” photodetector. Using plasmonic cloaking, the detector can make precise measurements of light without its presence disrupting the measurement.   

In papers in Nature Materials and Physical Review Letters, Engehta also helped develop a new subfield he has dubbed “metatronics.” Metatronics combines the principles of metamaterials with concepts in electronics and photonics, enabling nanoscale structures to manipulate infrared light waves in ways similar to how capacitors, resistors and inductors manipulate electrons in an electrical circuit.    

IEEE, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence. The award ceremony was held at the association’s annual International Symposium.