AREAS OF INTEREST:

• Metal Nanoshells
• Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
• Conducting Polymers

RESEARCH:

Steve Oldenburg received his B.S. in a combined physics and computer science program at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He joined the department of Electrical Engineering at Rice in 1994 and was involved in the development of a new type of nanocomposite material - metal nanoshells. Metal nanoshells have a diectric or semiconducting core that is surrounded by an ultra thin metal shell. By changing the ratio of the size of the core to the thickness of the shell, the peak absorbance of the particle can be tuned from 500 nm all the way out to the mid infrared (5 microns). This is a range of tunability greater than any other material system.

Possible applications include using the nanoshells as optical filters, chemical sensors, and nano-optical components.

CURRENT WHEREABOUTS:

Steve received his PhD in June 1999 and is currently working at Seashell Technologies, San Diego.