dr alexey belyanin professor of physics and astronomy at texas a&m university has been elected as a fellow of the optical society (osa) in recognition of his achievements in business leadership education research engineering and service dr alexey belyanin(credit: dr alexey belyanin) belyanin an internationally respected leader in the multidisciplinary research field of optics of nanostructured materials is cited for outstanding contributions to the optics of semiconductors nanostructures and emerging optoelectronic materials and for development of novel lasers and other optoelectronic devices in the mid-infrared and terahertz spectral range he is among 98 honorees unveiled monday (oct 22) as the societys 2019 fellows class being named an osa fellow is an honor accorded to those of rare distinction in their field and carries the responsibility of service to and leadership of the optics and photonics communities said osa president ian walmsley i congratulate the 2019 class on their achievements osa fellows are members who have served with distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics nominations are submitted by current osa fellows and reviewed by the osa fellow members committee which then recommends candidates to the awards council and osa board of directors no more than 10 percent of the total osa membership may be fellows at any given time making each years honorees a highly selective group the osa fellow members committee has been successful at expanding the level and type of achievements that factor into qualifying for this distinction said ceo elizabeth rogan the 2019 fellows class reflects a diverse and inclusive representation of osas growing membership belyanin is at his educational best whether explaining the physics-based concepts behind generating electricity to students visiting the mitchell physics building (above) or governing the operation of an infrared camera to texas teachers participating in the mitchell institute physics enhancement program (below) (credit: texas a&m physics and astronomy) belyanin a member of the george p and cynthia woods mitchell institute for fundamental physics and astronomy who joined the texas a&m faculty in 2003 is world-renowned for his breakthrough ideas and developments in research fields that span semiconductor physics quantum optics photonic devices and high-energy astrophysics in addition to serving as associate head for undergraduate programs in the department of physics and astronomy he serves as a faculty advisor for the texas a&m chapter of the society of physics students belyanins research group specializes in the optics of semiconductors nanostructures and topological materials he has led texas a&m efforts in two national science foundation-funded multi-university consortiums for more than a decade he is widely respected by his peers for his breadth of knowledge his uncanny ability to bridge the gap between theory and experimentalists and his ability to attract research funding as evidenced by his three nsf grants awarded since 2016 and current six-year air force office of scientific research (afosr) materials program grant through 2020 belyanin has published in excess of 130 papers in peer-reviewed journals 12 in the past two years alone and is a frequent reviewer of papers submitted to science nature and other prominent journals he is a reviewer for the mcarthur foundation and a review panelist for several nsf programs and other federal agencies including afosr the defense advanced research projects agency (darpa) the us department of energy (doe) advanced research projects agency-energy (arpa-e) and the army research office (aro) an in-demand presenter at invited conferences and symposia across the world he has also chaired a number of major international conferences equally respected in the classroom and broader educational community belyanin has developed a new graduate course while at texas a&m and taught several service courses in addition to co-founding and co-organizing the annual mitchell institute physics enhancement program (mipep) each summer since 2012 for physics teachers from texas high schools his extensive outreach activity during the past decade and a half includes hundreds of lectures and physics demonstrations for k-12 students school teachers and the general public belyanin (center background) observes as a texas a&m society of physics students member interacts with a texas a&m physics/football fan during pregame festivities outside kyle field belyanin has served as faculty advisor to the texas a&m chapter of sps since 2006 belyanin received his phd from the russian academy of sciences in 1995 and held research positions at the institute of applied physics of the russian academy of sciences and at texas a&m prior to joining the texas a&m physics and astronomy faculty he was granted early tenure in spring 2007 a fellow of the american physical society (2012) and international society for optics and photonics (2015) belyanin previously has been recognized with an nsf career award (2006) the joann treat research excellence award (2007) and lectureships at both lund university (2011) and the university of jena abbe school of photonics (2011) founded in 1916 and headquartered in washington dc the optical society is the leading professional association in optics and photonics home to accomplished science engineering and business leaders from all over the world through world-renowned publications meetings and membership programs osa provides quality information and inspiring interactions that power achievements in the science of light for more information visit wwwosaorg see a complete list of 2019 fellows and learn more about osas awards and grants program to learn more about belyanin and his research visit http://peoplephysicstamuedu/belyanin/ # # # # # # # # # # about research at texas a&m university: as one of the worlds leading research institutions texas a&m is at the forefront in making significant contributions to scholarship and discovery including that of science and technology research conducted at texas a&m represented annual expenditures of more than $9054 million in fiscal year 2017 texas a&m ranked in the top 20 of the national science foundations higher education research and development survey (2016) based on expenditures of more than $8927 million in fiscal year 2016 texas a&ms research creates new knowledge that provides basic fundamental and applied contributions resulting in many cases in economic benefits to the state nation and world to learn more visit http://researchtamuedu/ -atm- contact: shana k hutchins (979) 862-1237 or shutchins@tamuedu or dr alexey belyanin (979) 845-7785 or belyanin@physicstamuedu