Name: Matthew D. Escarra

Status: Professor and Group Leader

Office: 221 Stanley Thomas Hall

Email: escarra [at] tulane.edu

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Matthew Escarra is a professor of Physics and Engineering Physics at Tulane University, where he also serves as faculty director of the Tulane Instrumentation for Nanoscience & Innovation (TINI) and the Tulane Micro/Nanofabrication Facility (MNF). He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Princeton University in 2011, where he made advances in the performance of quantum cascade lasers and mid-infrared metamaterials. He also was a Ford Fellow in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy while at Princeton. He went on to complete postdoctoral training at the California Institute of Technology in Applied Physics and Materials Science, where he developed new approaches to high efficiency solar energy conversion. He also has worked with several companies, small and large, to commercialize related technologies, including Daylight Solutions, Sentinel Photonics, Dow Chemical, Reactwell, and Bernhard. Matthew’s undergraduate studies were in electrical engineering at Rice University. He is a recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award and the Excellence in Teaching award from the Tulane Science & Engineering Honor Society. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and a Senior Member of Optica (formerly OSA). His current research focuses on hybrid solar energy converters, dynamic nanophotonics, and optoelectronics from two-dimensional materials. He is married and has three children.

Favorite thing about New Orleans: Prof. Escarra is originally from New Orleans, and he “knows what it means to miss New Orleans.” His favorite thing about New Orleans is the people and their passion for their city and their unique way of life.