While optical tweezers have revolutionized light-driven manipulation, their force range, accessible length scales, and functional versatility remain limited. Inspired by natural transport phenomena such as wind and ocean currents, we harness light-induced heating, cooling, and temperature gradients to control matter. We have established a versatile, energy-efficient optothermal manipulation platform that leverages light-driven multiphysical fields for programmable control of the motion, interactions, structure, composition, and properties of matter across multiple length scales. Integrated with artificial intelligence, this platform becomes a self-driving engine for autonomous experimentation and accelerated scientific discovery.
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By integrating manipulation by light, manipulation of light, and artificial intelligence, we aim to establish a new generation of intelligent optical measurement technologies. Combining conventional optical microscopy with optical rotation and machine learning, we achieve high-resolution volumetric imaging and accurate classification of organisms. Our mechanoscopy platforms, including adhesion frequency assays, quantify dynamic cell-cell interactions, cell-substrate adhesion, and receptor-ligand binding forces in biocompatible environments with well-controlled geometry, while revealing their relationships with biochemical organization and signaling. In parallel, we develop chiroptical spectroscopy systems that enable label-free, highly sensitive enantiodiscrimination.
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We create architected materials that redefine the control of light beyond conventional optics. By engineering quantum materials, resonant structures, photonic crystals, and metamaterials, we program light-matter interactions across length scales. Inspired by nature and accelerated by artificial intelligence, we discover unconventional optical architectures with emerging functionalities. Our light-driven manufacturing platforms enable sustainable, freeform fabrication and hierarchical integration of these materials. Combined with advanced characterization, we uncover the links between nanoscale architectures and macroscopic optical responses, revealing both individual photonic building-block behaviors and collective emergent phenomena.
