Scientific American Magazine Names Clark School Engineer
Among Nation's Research Leaders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2006

CONTACT:
Ted Knight
301-405-3596
teknight@umd.edu
OR
Missy Corley
301-405-6501
mcorley@umd.edu

COLLEGE PARK, Md.— Scientific American magazine has selected Igor Smolyaninov, a research scientist in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering, as a Research Leader in the 2006 "Scientific American 50" (SA 50) list for his contributions in the emerging field of plasmonics.

The magazine's annual list honors 50 individuals, teams, companies and other organizations whose accomplishments in research, business or policymaking demonstrate outstanding technological leadership. Previous SA 50 selections have included Google founders Sergey Brin (a UM alumnus) and Larry Page; Nobel prize-winning neurobiologist Roderick MacKinnon; and high tech innovator Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple. This year's honorees for research leadership were selected for their contributions in a wide variety of areas, including biotechnology, microelectronics, energy, and genetics research.

Smolyaninov and his research colleagues at the Clark School, including ECE Professor Christopher Davis, are using plasmons, electron waves generated when light strikes a metallic surface, in a powerful new microscope to see nanoscale details that were previously undetectable.

This plasmon microscope is ideal for viewing living cells, and could operate much like a point-and-shoot camera. Smolyaninov, Davis, and the Clark School team believe they can improve the resolution of their microscope images down to around 10 nanometers (by comparison, the width of human hair is approximately 80,000 nanometers). Capturing movies might also be possible.

Smolyaninov was also recently cited in an American Physical Society news story for his research in plasmon technology.

About the A. James Clark School of Engineering

The Clark School of Engineering, situated on the rolling, 1,500-acre University of Maryland campus in College Park, Md., is one of the premier engineering schools in the U.S.

The Clark School's graduate programs are collectively the fastest rising in the nation. In U.S. News & World Report's annual rating of graduate programs, the school is 15th among public and private programs nationally, 9th among public programs nationally and first among public programs in the mid-Atlantic region. The School offers 13 graduate programs and 12 undergraduate programs, including two degree programs tailored for working professionals and one certification program.

The school is home to one of the most vibrant research programs in the country. With major emphasis in key areas such as communications and networking, nanotechnology, bioengineering, reliability engineering, project management, intelligent transportation systems and space robotics, as well as electronic packaging and smart small systems and materials, the Clark School is leading the way toward the next generations of advanced engineering technology.

Visit the Clark School homepage at www.eng.umd.edu.

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