User:Pnrj/Duncan G. Steel

Duncan G. Steel is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan; he works in a variety of related fields, including atomic, molecular and optical (AMO) physics, biophysics, quantum computing, and gerontology. Steel is a Guggenheim Scholar and a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Optical Society of America, and the IEEE. He has written over 400 publications, collaborated with over 400 other scientists, and been cited over 1000 times.

Early Career
Steel earned his bachelor degree in Physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972, and then from the University of Michigan he earned master's degrees in Electrical Science and Nuclear Science in 1973 and 1975, before going on to a PhD in Nuclear and Electrical Science in 1976. His doctoral thesis was directed by David Bach.

For 10 years starting in 1975, Steel served as Senior Staff Physicist at the Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, working with Ross McFarlane, Richard Lind, and Paul Berman.

Recent Research
In 2002, Steel co-authored an article in Physics Today explaining research in quantum dots. In 2004, Steel co-edited the Encyclopedia of Modern Optics with Bob Guenther. Steel's current research is in two domains: The first is a collaboration with Dan Gammon at the Naval Research Laboratory, Lu Sham at the University of California at San Diego, Lu-Ming Duan, and Paul Berman on quantum optical electronics, which uses quantum dots and studies the quantum properties of semiconductors for potential applications in quantum computing. The second is a collaboration with Ari Gafni on biomolecular laser spectroscopy, which uses laser interference to study the complex structure of proteins and their interactions at the level of individual protein molecules and has applications in treating amyloid diseases including Alzheimer's disease and type-2 diabetes.

Awards
In 2010, Steel was awarded the Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids for his study of the interactions between lasers and matter, as well as the Rackham Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award for his support and mentorship for graduate students.