Faculty Spotlight: Marina Radulaski
This spotlight is part of our 2022 International Women's Day feature.
Describe your personal and professional background and current role in the College of Engineering.
As an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, I run a research group of seven students working on quantum nanophotonics. I got my Ph.D. in applied physics and postdoctoral training in electrical engineering at Stanford University. My undergraduate degrees in physics and computer science were obtained at the University of Belgrade and the Union University in Serbia.
What led you to the engineering field?
Since high school science camp, I have been passionate about quantum mechanics and lasers. My undergraduate research experiences helped me pursue a Ph.D. in quantum nanophotonics. Since then, I have fallen in love with designing, fabricating and experimenting with nanoscale devices for quantum hardware.
Highlight your current research. What do you love about it, why are you excited and how do you stay motivated?
I love that in my lab, we can create states of matter that don't occur in our everyday experience - the quantum states. It feels like having a secret key to unlocking the unique mysteries of the universe. It continues to be a personal challenge to find out where we can make such phenomena take place and how we can harvest those effects to make the next generation of hardware for communication, computing and simulation.
The 2022 International Women’s Day theme is #BreakTheBias. How do you support gender equity and #BreakTheBias in the engineering field?
I focus on helping diverse students in science and engineering fields across the so-called 'leaky pipeline.’ In collaboration with the Optics Club, I initiated and co-organized the 'Bring your daughter to work' event providing exposure to optics and lasers to girls ages 4-18. My research lab works with high school students in Woodland to attract them to STEM fields and college education. I work with undergraduate female student organizations on campus to raise awareness of the exciting new quantum technology fields. To bring these messages to scale, I actively engage in conversations on Twitter about quantum engineering and women in STEM.
