Thank you for visiting our research group website. I am an assistant professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and an associated faculty at the Institute of Materials at Princeton University. My research involves understanding, controlling and modelling nano-to-macro scale radiative heat flows in both natural environments and artificial surfaces, with characterizing and mitigating ambient heat in a warming world as a guiding theme.

On the scientific front, our work lies at the intersection of optics and materials science, and involves the creation of photonic and plasmonic metamaterials and designs with novel optical properties. On the Civil and Environmental Engineering front, we design scalable materials that radiatively thermoregulate and make human environments more sustainable and climate resilient, and model their interactions with the environment and impact on buildings and cities.

Our other research interests include optical component design for infrared heat detection and characterization, water harvesting using passive cooling technologies, modelling large-scale impact of radiative cooling designs for geoengineering, and optical/radiative phenomena in the natural world. We are also passionate about designing novel but inexpensive technologies to address critical needs in developing countries.

Some Keywords that indicate our research interests:

• Optical design.
• Metamaterials, metasurfaces, plasmonics.
• Passive cooling, heating and lighting.
• Thermal imaging and sensing.

• Sustainable buildings and architecture.
• Building energy modelling.
• Novel manufacturing methods.
• Climate action and geoengineering.
• Water harvesting and purification.
• Meteorology and earth sciences.
• Paints and coatings.

Abstracts of our published works and preprints can be found on this page.