Dr. Mike Chini was born and raised in southern New Jersey.
He received his BSc in Physics from McGill University (Montréal, QC) in 2007, performing research in the nanotribology group of Prof. Roland Bennewitz.
He then studied under the direction of Prof. Zenghu Chang at both Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS) and the University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL), where his work focused on the accurate characterization and spectroscopic application of isolated attosecond light pulses.
He earned a PhD in Physics from the University of Central Florida in 2012.
From 2012-2015, he performed postdoctoral research on attosecond spectroscopy, ultrashort pulse laser source development, and laser filamentation in the groups of Profs. Zenghu Chang and Martin Richardson.
He joined the Faculty in the Department of Physics at the University of Central Florida in Fall 2015, and was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2020.
In Fall 2024, he will move to the Ohio State University Department of Physics. Mike enjoys doing cryptic crossword puzzles with his wife Jackie, camping with his son Josiah, making home-made pizza, and listening to punk music.
Dipendra Khatri is a native of Nepal, who was born and raised in the beautiful mountains of Baitadi district and whose academic journey spans continents.
After completing high school, Dipendra moved to Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, for higher education before venturing to the United States in 2018 to pursue a master's degree in physics at the University of Memphis (UofM), Tennessee.
During his tenure at UofM, Dipendra contributed to the research endeavors of Dr. Thang Hoang's Electronic and Photonic Materials Research Lab.
In 2020, he transitioned to the University of Central Florida (UCF) to pursue a Ph.D., becoming a part of the LUMAS (Laboratory for Ultrafast Metrology and Attoscience in Solids) group under the guidance of Dr. Mike Chini.
His doctoral research focuses on pioneering field sampling techniques spanning the visible to mid-infrared spectral ranges and exploring their applications to study ultrafast nonlinear optical processes on sub-femtosecond time scales.
Outside the lab, Dipendra thrives on outdoor adventures, indulging in running, cycling, hiking, and various sports like volleyball, basketball, and tennis. He's also great at making delicious momos and chutney.
Chelsea Kincaid will be a first-year graduate student at the Ohio State University (OSU) starting in Fall 2024.
She is currently completing her undergraduate degree in Physics at the University of Central Florida (UCF) where she works in Dr. Mike Chini’s lab on pulse compression and simulations for experimental benchmarking
In the summer of 2023, she completed an internship at the Linac Coherent Light Source (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) where she developed ultraviolet sources of resonant dispersive waves and strong relationships with staff scientists which have led to continued collaborations between LCLS and UCF.
Beyond her academic pursuits, Chelsea channels her creativity into building useful electronics, rollerblading and driving her Miata.
Dr. Aamir Mushtaq was born on May 4th in the stunning regions of Jammu and Kashmir, India. From the verdant valleys of his hometown, Aamir embarked on a journey fueled by an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
Aamir completed his MSc in Physics from the central university Jamia Millia Islamia, India. After completing his master’s, Aamir delved into the captivating realm of ultrafast spectroscopy and nonlinear optics in 2015 as a PhD student at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mandi, India.
During his PhD, he explored ultrafast dynamics in various exotic materials such as 2D transition metal dichalcogenides, quantum dots and 2D perovskites using ultrafast techniques such as transient absorption spectroscopy, time resolved fluorescence, and Z-scan.
After completing the PhD in 2021 Aamir joined Dr. Enam Chowdhury’s group as a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University. He worked on Z-scan technique, photoluminescence up-conversion, and second harmonic generation and published his work in reputed ACS journals.
After serving for a year in Chowdhury’s group, Aamir moved to the University of Central Florida in 2023 and joined Dr. Chini’s group.
He is currently working as a Postdoctoral Associate in Dr. Chini’s group, where his research is focuses on exploring solid-state high harmonic generation in exotic classes of 2D materials, such as metal thiophosphates, Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites, and others.
Apart from doing research, Aamir enjoys macrophotography, mountain biking and playing cricket.
Dr. Chau Truong was born in Ninh Thuan, one of Vietnam's hottest regions.
She earned her BSc and MSc degrees in Physics from Ho Chi Minh City University of Education in 2011 and 2013, respectively, where she performed research with the AMO theory group of Prof. Van Hoang Le.
From 2012, she taught general physics as an instructor at the University of Technology and Education, Vietnam.
Later, she completed her Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Central Florida in 2023 under the guidance of Prof. Mike Chini, focusing on few-cycle pulse compression and attosecond pulse generation from Yb-doped laser amplifiers, along with developing a novel technique for single-shot electric field sampling of near-infrared waveforms.
Currently, she works with Prof. Chini as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Central Florida and later at the Ohio State University.
Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, painting with her daughter, sightseeing, and listening to music.