Steven Johnson '95, PhD '01

Professor of Applied Mathematics and Physics
Studies the influence and design of complex geometries ("metamaterials") on wave phenomena.
Research Areas
Condensed Matter Theory
headshot
(617) 253-4073
Office: 2-345
Lab(s): Nanostructures and Computation Group, Applied Mathematics Research, MRSEC IRG-I
Affiliated Center(s): Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE), Department of Mathematics at MIT
Assistant: Shirley Entzminger

Research Interests

  • The influence of complex geometries (particularly in the nanoscale) on solutions of partial differential equations, especially for wave phenomena and electromagnetism — analytical theory, numerics, and design of devices and phenomena. (See, for example, photonic crystals.)
  • High-performance computation, such as fast Fourier transforms, solvers for numerical electromagnetism, and large-scale optimization.

Biographical Sketch

I received my Ph.D. in physics from MIT in 2001, as well as BS degrees in physics, mathematics, and computer science from MIT in 1995, with post-doctoral positions at MIT and Harvard. My Ph.D. thesis was published as a book by Kluwer in 2002 (sans color, unfortunately); you can read the introduction online. I grew up in St. Charles, Illinois and attended high school at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA).

More info:

In the news
A new shoebox-sized laser produces terahertz waves (green squiggles) by using a special infrared laser (red) to rotate molecules of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, packed in a pen-sized cavity (grey). Credits:
In the news

Researchers generate terahertz laser with laughing gas

Device may enable “T-ray vision” and better wireless communication.

Awards & Honors

  • 2009 // Edmund F. Kelly Research Award, awarded every three years by the MIT Mathematics Department for outstanding research by a junior faculty member.
  • 2008 // Ranked among top-10 most-cited authors in the field of “photonic crystals” by ScienceWatch.com (October 2008).
  • 1999 // J. H. Wilkinson Prize for Numerical Software (for FFTW); Argonne Natl. Lab., National Physical Lab. (UK), and the Numerical Algorithms Group
  • 1999 // Laurels Award in Electronics (for FFTW), Aviation Week & Space Technology, 1999.

Key Publications