Composition-Structure-Property Relations in Inorganic Glasses

An important application of glass is to optical signal transmission, and there is a constant desire to transmit more and more information over longer distances. These requirements demand new ways of thinking about glass and the fundamental limitations that different glass chemistries impose. In this research program we will study these issues by combining advanced optical, structural, and modeling work to determine how the basic chemical bonding in glass leads to various optical response, and ultimately, optical signal loss. Our fundamental goal is to develop a new understanding, based on original data, of the interaction of light with atomic motions in glass, as induced by both applied stresses and by temperature. Once achieved we will be in the position to design and optimize new glass compositions with superior optical properties, for vastly improved optical communication networks. Trainees in our program will be exposed to state-of-the-art capabilities in both experimental and computational materials science, preparing them for future work in this many related areas of materials science and engineering.