CV

Experience

• Physicist / Scientist
  Applied Materials, Santa Clara, CA · Mar 2026 – Present
  • Tool development: Contribute to new-technology nanoimprint and inkjet process-tool development, from concept and component sourcing through rapid prototyping and early-stage validation; review designs for next-generation imprint and inkjet chambers.
  • Hardware & controls: Designed and built a 3-channel load-cell assembly for in situ imprint-force monitoring under the wafer chuck; migrated data acquisition from a standalone Keyence DAQ to the tool’s native Beckhoff control platform, enabling future closed-loop force control.
  • Process characterization: Characterized nanoimprint process mechanics by calibrating imprint force against axis-control setpoints and mapping force distribution across the wafer chuck; identified nonuniformity caused by chuck misleveling and established minimum-force conditions for efficient nanoscale pattern transfer.
• Process Engineer – Optical Metrology, AR/VR Components (Contract)
  Meta Reality Labs, Redmond, WA · May 2024 – Mar 2026
  • Simulation: Applied Lumerical FDTD to evaluate the sensitivity of AR waveguide scattering and flare to bondline geometry, material properties, illumination conditions, and multilayer coatings; identified a nonzero bondline-height target that minimizes flare while accommodating manufacturing constraints.
  • Metrology: Characterized geometric and surface-relief grating (SRG) AR waveguides, linking physical structure to optical performance: flatness, TTV, and optical wedge by Zygo and ÄPRE interferometry; bondline thickness and roughness by Keyence profilometry validated against AFM; UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometry; and BSDF scatterometry. Defined key metrics aligning the Redmond site with the supplier factory.
  • Automation: Built Python and MATLAB pipelines automating waveguide metrology data analysis, cutting analysis time by more than 50% (over 70% on some tools); packaged the code as standalone MATLAB apps for one-click use by non-programmers and created an interactive web app for human-in-the-loop outlier review.
• Postdoctoral Researcher – Nanophotonics & Optical Characterization
  Emory University, Atlanta, GA · Jan 2023 – Apr 2024
  • Simulation: Introduced COMSOL Multiphysics to the group and used it to design high-Q mid-infrared metasurfaces, in both reflection and transmission, with resonances tuned to molecular vibrational modes for cavity-coupling studies.
  • Optical setup: Designed and built a Raman spectroscopy system from scratch, including the free-space optical layout, alignment, and calibration.
• Postdoctoral Researcher
  Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing, China · Jan 2021 – Oct 2022
  • Modeling: Developed a MATLAB model of plasmon-driven photocatalysis on silver nanoparticles from the ground up: computed the optical response with Mie theory (cross-checked against Lumerical FDTD), derived the plasmon-induced hot-electron and hot-hole energy distributions, and coupled them to a vibrational-heating framework to predict reaction rates in close agreement with published experiments.
• Graduate Research Assistant
  Texas A&M University, College Station, TX · Sep 2015 – Dec 2020
  • Design & fabrication: Designed, fabricated, and experimentally validated broadband plasmonic metasurfaces, completing the full device-development cycle from Lumerical FDTD optimization through electron-beam lithography and optical characterization; achieved >90% absorption across 350–800 nm, with measured spectra closely matching simulation.

Education

• Ph.D., Chemistry (Physical Chemistry Division), Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 2020
  • Dissertation research: plasmonic metasurfaces, nanophotonics, confocal optical spectroscopy
• B.S., Chemistry, Peking University, Beijing, China, 2015

Publications (13 papers, 5 first-author; 542 citations; h-index 13)

First-author publications

1. Wu, S. & Sheldon, M. T. Mechanisms of photothermalization in plasmonic nanostructures: insights into the steady state. Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 74, 521–545 (2023). Download
2. Wu, S., Chen, Y. & Gao, S. Plasmonic photocatalysis with nonthermalized hot carriers. Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 086801 (2022). Download
3. Wu, S., Cheng, O. H.-C., Zhao, B., Hogan, N., Lee, A., Son, D. H. & Sheldon, M. T. The connection between plasmon decay dynamics and the surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy background: inelastic scattering from non-thermal and hot carriers. J. Appl. Phys. 129, 173103 (2021). Download
4. Wu, S., Hogan, N. & Sheldon, M. T. Hot electron emission in plasmonic thermionic converters. ACS Energy Lett. 4, 2508–2513 (2019). Download
5. Wu, S. & Sheldon, M. T. Optical power conversion via tunneling of plasmonic hot carriers. ACS Photonics 5, 2516–2523 (2018). Download

Co-authored publications

1. Chen, Y., Wu, S. & Gao, S. Unified description of thermal and nonthermal hot carriers in plasmonic photocatalysis. J. Phys. Chem. C 129, 12804–12813 (2025). Download
2. Ghorai, N., Yang, Z., Gebre, S. T., Wu, S., Zhao, F., Ivanov, I. N. & Lian, T. Efficient size-dependent hot electron transfer from Au to TiO₂ nanoparticles. Nano Lett. 25, 3253–3258 (2025). Download
3. Yang, Z., Ghorai, N., Wu, S., He, S. & Lian, T. Direct and indirect interfacial electron transfer at a plasmonic p-Cu₇S₄/CdS heterojunction. ACS Nano 19, 1547–1556 (2025). Download
4. Lee, A., Wu, S., Yim, J. E., Zhao, B. & Sheldon, M. T. Hot electrons in a steady state: interband vs intraband excitation of plasmonic gold. ACS Nano 18, 19077–19085 (2024). Download
5. Zhang, F., Lan, Y., Li, R., Wang, J., Wu, S., Cai, L., Zhao, Y. & Wang, W. Boosting the rate performance of primary Li/CF_x batteries through interlayer conductive network engineering. J. Mater. Chem. A 11, 20187–20192 (2023). Download
6. Wang, K.-Y., Feng, L., Yan, T.-H., Wu, S., Joseph, E. A. & Zhou, H.-C. Rapid generation of hierarchically porous metal–organic frameworks through laser photolysis. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 59, 11349–11354 (2020). Download
7. Hogan, N., Wu, S. & Sheldon, M. T. Photothermalization and hot electron dynamics in the steady state. J. Phys. Chem. C 124, 4931–4945 (2020). Download
8. Huang, J., Wang, X., Hogan, N. L., Wu, S., Lu, P., Fan, Z., Dai, Y., Zeng, B., Starko-Bowes, R., Jian, J., Wang, H., Li, L., Prasankumar, R. P., Yarotski, D., Sheldon, M. T., Chen, H.-T., Jacob, Z., Zhang, X. & Wang, H. Nanoscale artificial plasmonic lattice in self-assembled vertically aligned nitride–metal hybrid metamaterials. Adv. Sci. 5, 1800416 (2018). Download

Professional Service

• Peer reviewer for Nanophotonics, Chemistry of Materials, Journal of Applied Physics, and ACS Nano (10+ manuscripts reviewed)