MINI-BIOGRAPHY


Joel @ Duke

I am currently an Assistant Research Professor at Duke University in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. My research focuses on the design, modeling, and implementation of novel computational imaging systems across the electromagnetic spectrum. Currently, I am focusing on applications across basic science, security, and medical imaging.

Beginnings

I was born in 1983 in Bryan, Tx and spent the first few months of my life living in the married student housing section of Texas A&M where my father was attending college. After that we moved to Austin, Tx where my brother was born. We then moved to California before returning to the northeast and moving closer to my extended family. We lived in Pittsburgh, Pa for a few years then moved to Downingtown, Pa.


Education/Training

I attended junior high and high school in Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated as valedictorian of my class from Downingtown High school in 2001. I matriculated at Princeton University in August of the same year and completed a B.S.E. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace engineering and a certificate in Engineering Physics. Among my achievements at Princeton, I received the “Best Engineering Physics Independent Work Award” and “Donald Janssen Dike Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research” for my senior thesis work under Dr. Szymon Suckewer. I graduated summa cum laude in 2005.

I matriculated as a graduate student in the Physics Department at Duke University in the summer of 2005 and immediately joined the Quantum Electronics Lab under Dr. Daniel Gauthier (see the 'Projects' page for more details!) . During my time at Duke, I was named a James B. Duke Fellow of Physics by the Graduate School, a John T. Chambers Fellow by the Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics, and a Fritz London Fellow by the Physics Department. In addition, I received a Physics Graduate Teaching Fellowship to co-design and -teach a course in optics aimed at advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students with Dr. Gauthier. I also participated in the yearlong Preparing Future Faculty program, served as the head of the Physics Department graduate mentoring program, and acted as president of the Physics Graduate Student Organization.

I received my A.M. in Physics in 2008, a graduate certificate in Photonics in 2012, and my Ph.D. in 2012 for my work on collective light-matter interactions in a cloud of cold atoms.

After graduation, I worked as a research scientist in David Brady's Duke Imaging and Spectroscopy Program (DISP) in the Duke ECE department as the program and technical manager of the DHS S&T Coded Aperture X-ray Imaging (CAXI) project. In 2014, I joined the faculty as an Assistant Research Professor and have continued my work in computational imaging throughout a variety of projects.

Hobbies

Outside of my studies and research, I entertain a host of hobbies. I grew up in the Boy Scouts (from Tiger on up) and attained the rank of Eagle Scout when I was 15. I have also been playing piano since I was 6 both competitively and for leisure (now, only the latter). Also, I play guitar and do some singing and enjoy writing and performing music. My other passion is the martial arts - I trained in Tang Soo Do at the World Martial Arts Academy in Pa under Sifu Roy Kofroth for 5 years, did a brief stint with the Princeton Tae Kwon Do club for a year, and studied Kung Fu under Sifu Gary Vaganek of Young Forest Kung Fu for 3 years.


Family

My wife, Rachel , and I were married on July 15, 2006 in Pittsburgh, Pa in the presence of our friends and family. Rachel is currently on faculty in the Pediatrics department (Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine) at Duke University Medical Center. Our wonderful kids (Maddy, Max and Lucy) keep us on our toes and manage to help us fill our "free" time each and every day.