Hatice Altug facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hatice Altug
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Hatice Altug in 2020
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| Born | 1978 (age 47–48) Antalya, Turkey
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| Citizenship | Turkey |
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| Institutions | Boston University, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) |
Hatice Altug (born in 1978) is a brilliant Turkish physicist and professor. She works at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. There, she leads the Bio-nanophotonic Systems laboratory. Her research helps us understand tiny things like light and how it interacts with living materials.
Professor Altug focuses on using very small light systems, called nanophotonics. She uses these systems to create special tools called biosensors. These biosensors can find and identify biological materials, like viruses, without needing special labels. She even developed a low-cost biosensor that can detect viruses such as Ebola. This invention is very helpful in places where resources are limited, especially during pandemics.
Hatice Altug has received many important awards for her work. These include the United States Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. She also received the Adolph Lomb Medal from The Optical Society. She is recognized as a Fellow of the Optical Society of America.
Early Life and Education
Hatice Altug was born in 1978 in Burdur, Turkey. She finished high school in Antalya, Turkey, in 1996. She then went to Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. She studied physics there and earned her bachelor's degree in 2000. She received a full scholarship for her studies.
In 2007, she earned her PhD in applied physics from Stanford University in California, U.S. During her time at Stanford, she focused on laser systems and optical instruments. Her supervisor was Professor Jelena Vučković.
Career and Discoveries
After her PhD, Professor Altug worked as a postdoctoral researcher. She was at the Center for Engineering in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. From 2007 to 2013, she taught at Boston University. She started as an assistant professor and later became an associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
In 2010, she received the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award. This award came from the National Science Foundation. Professor Altug also shared her discoveries with the public. She worked with Boston’s Museum of Science and local educational programs. She also added new experiments about nanotechnology to courses at Boston University. In 2010, Popular Science magazine named her one of their “Brilliant 10.” This award goes to top researchers under 40.
In 2011, the IEEE Photonics Society gave her the Young Investigator Award. This award honors people who make great contributions to the field of photonics before age 35. She was recognized for her amazing work in controlling light at a very tiny scale. This work greatly improved how biosensors work.
In 2012, Professor Altug received OSA’s Adolph Lomb Medal. This was for her breakthrough work on integrated optical nano-biosensors. She also developed nanospectroscopy technologies. These technologies use nanoplasmonics, nanofluidics, and new nanofabrication methods.
She was also honored by President Obama in 2011. She received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). This is the highest honor the U.S. government gives to young scientists and engineers. She was recognized for leading the creation of a biosensor. This biosensor uses tiny crystals to control light. It can detect a virus, a protein, or even a cancer cell in just a drop of blood.
In 2013, Professor Altug joined Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne. She became a full professor there in 2020. In 2019, she received the ERC Proof of Concept Grant. This grant from the European Research Council was for her project. The project focused on a portable Infrared Biochemical Sensor. This sensor uses special pixelated dielectric metasurfaces.
Awards and Honors
- 2021: Fellow of Optica
- 2020: European Physical Society Emmy Noether Distinction for Women in Physics
- 2019: ERC Proof of Concept Grant
- 2012: Optical Society's Adolph Lomb Medal
- 2011: Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers
- 2011: IEEE Photonics Society Young Investigator Award
- 2010: National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award
