Freshman class

Immaterial world

Willie Padilla, assistant professor of physics

Ph.D., University of California San Diego

Specialization: Condensed matter physics-metamaterials

Representative publication: "Active Terahertz Metamaterial Devices," Nature

Even as a child, I was captivated by the connection between symmetry and beauty. Later in life, while studying physics, I learned that some of the most fundamental and powerful laws of nature stem from the symmetry of the universe, or the lack thereof. These profound truths strongly influence my research today.

A large part of my work involves artificially fabricated materials, the design of which is based upon symmetry principles. These man-made structures, termed "metamaterials," have properties superior to materials found in nature. Exotic effects I currently am studying include ultra-fast terahertz switching, negative refractive index, and invisibility cloaks.