Welcome to the Thomann Research Group website in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University! Our research interests are centered around novel applications of nanophotonics, in which engineered metallic (plasmonic) and dielectric nanostructures are used to achieve unprecedented control over the flow of light and its spatial localization into tiny volumes. In a second exciting area of research, the temporal confinement of light down to attosecond durations has just become possible.
We aim to leverage advances in both these areas to create novel materials and nanostructures, to study their fundamental properties (optical, electrical and photoelectrochemical), and use them to solve practical problems, e.g. in the areas of energy and photocatalysis. Our research is highly interdisciplinary, and benefits from interactions between researchers across all disciplines of engineering and science, including ECE, chemical engineering, materials science, physics, chemistry and biology!
Please feel free to contact us for more information!