June 12, 2015

The group leader of UCF’s new Optical Imaging System Laboratory said he came to the university with the primary goals of reinventing the design and use of microscopic imaging tools to improve their versatility and capabilities.

“Lots of imaging systems need revolutionary design and I hope to carry on that coming to UCF,” said Sean Pang, an assistant professor in CREOL, the College of Optics & Photonics.

“The fundamental design for light microscopes hasn’t changed for 400 years, but now we have light sources and sensors with much better performance. There is lots of space for innovational imaging methods.”

His research will focus on developing multidimensional imaging platforms for biological research, medical diagnosis, and industrial-imaging applications in both visible and X-ray regimes.

“For example, how to shrink down medical imaging systems and make them available for everyone – as simple as taking a photo and sending it to a doctor for diagnosis,” he said. “Research in imaging is one of the most important and enabling technologies in our century.”

Pang received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from California Institute of Technology. Before joining UCF, he conducted his postdoctoral research in X-ray imaging at Duke University. He has a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Texas A&M University and a bachelor’s degree in optical engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing.

The lab currently is staffed by Pang and one graduate student. He hopes to add a couple more graduate students next year and expand work on some projects with UCF’s new International Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research in Osceola County, the world’s first industry-led smart-sensor development center.

“A lot of our research can be complimentary and we can contribute to the center,” Pang said.