Vladimir Shalaev - Engineering Light

This episode features Vladimir Shalaev on the occasion of his recent election to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering. Years ago, Shalaev studied with a mentor who stressed the importance of trying to do something really big, something based on fundamental science that could potentially lead to truly disruptive innovations. Shalaev specializes in metamaterials, materials that are designed and engineered with properties that cannot be otherwise obtained from materials in nature. He is working on quantum photonics, aiming to engineer light, mastering its properties to create virtually perfect carriers of information that are much faster and have way more bandwidth than electronics. He talks about a not-too-distant future where quantum computing, classical computing, and AI come together to tackle the biggest societal problems, things that will change our lives — vital for the prosperity of Indiana, the country writ big, and the world with which we compete.