Ward A. Lopes

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Mount Holyoke Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics

Specialization
Nanoscale science and technology, self-assembly, holographic optical trapping

Biologists have known for a long time that certain molecules will organize themselves into interesting functional systems. The tendency of these molecules to organize themselves is called self-assembly. Physicists, engineers, and material scientists are starting to learn how to use self-assembly to fabricate materials and devices with features finer than those that can be easily reached by methods in use by the semi-conductor industry. Once one has a useful self-assembled object, the question naturally arises: How does one put this "thingy" where one wants it? One answer is to use holographic optical trapping -- a method which can place hundreds of microscopic "tractor beams" within the field of view of a microscope. Ward Lopes uses self-assembly and holographic optical trapping to fabricate and manipulate systems with nanoscale features and uses various forms of microscopy (optical, transmission electron, scanning electron, scanning probe) to characterize and study those systems.

Lopes has received grants from the National Institutes of Health and has authored many scholarly articles.

At Mount Holyoke, Lopes teaches mechanics and electrodynamics.