The Clare Boothe Luce Distinguished Lecture is designed to highlight the scholarship of prominent scientists working in fields where women remain underrepresented. This year’s lecture will be delivered by Dr. Deirdre O’Carroll.
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
11:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.
Campus Center, Multi-Purpose Room
Lunch will be provided.
Registration required.
Title: Pushing the Limits of Photonics and Microelectronics for Next-Generation Information Technology
Presented by: Prof. Deirdre O’Carroll, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University.
Lecture Abstract: Data communications, data storage and computer architectures are undergoing rapid changes to how they function, with rapidly growing demand for higher data volumes, faster data processing speeds and improved energy efficiency. Innovations in photonics and microelectronics are essential for the development and advancement of new ways to manage digital information, including quantum computing, neuromorphic computing and integrated photonics, that meet the demands of our modern-day, data-driven society. In this presentation, I will give a broad overview of how photonics, the science and technology of light, and microelectronics, the field of very small electronic devices and components, are converging to advance new information technology approaches. I will also highlight career decisions I made along the way to working in the exciting fields of photonics and microelectronics.
Dr. O’Carroll’s Biography: Dr. Deirdre O’Carroll is a Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Departments of Materials Science & Engineering and Chemistry & Chemical Biology at Rutgers University. She obtained her B.E. in Electrical Engineering in 2002, and a PhD in Microelectronics in 2008 at University College Cork and the Tyndall National Institute, Ireland. Prior to joining Rutgers in 2011, she conducted postdoctoral research in plasmonics at California Institute of Technology in the US and at the University of Strasbourg and CNRS in France. She has published more than 80 papers and 3 patents in the areas of nanoscale photonics, thin-film optoelectronics, organic semiconductors, nanofabrication, and metasurfaces. She is a recipient of a Marie Curie International Fellowship (2009), National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2016), an ACS Young Investigator Award in Polymer Material Science and Engineering (2017). She also serves as a board member of PhotonicsNJ and is co-founder of the startup company CarbonDots.
Panel discussion: The panel discussion, highlighting the careers of women in STEM fields, will feature Suneeta Ramaswami, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs; Grace Brannigan, Director of CCIB; Longmei Shu, Assistant Professor of Mathematics; Michelle Carlin, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, and Xingyun Qi, Assistant Professor of Biology.