Mohamed ElKabbash

Assistant Professor of Optical Sciences
Assistant Professor of Physics

Classification: Joint Faculty

Education:

  • Ph.D., Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 2017
  • B.A., Physics and Economics, Illinois Wesleyan University, 2012
  • Masters, Public Law and Political Economy, Alexandria University, 2009
  • LL. B, Alexandria University, 2007
Research Interests:
 
  • Nanophotonics.
  • Quantum Photonics.
  • Optoelectronics.
  • Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics.
  • Table-top tests of fundamental physics.

Dr. ElKabbash is an assistant professor in the Wyant College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona. He leads the Quantum Photonics and Nanophotonics Group (QPANG). Prior to that, he worked as a postdoctoral scientist in the Quantum Photonics Group at MIT. He works on the areas of nanophotonics and metamaterials, quantum photonics, and ultrafast light-matter interaction. His current research interests are the integration of nanophotonics with CMOS foundry processes, developing high-speed spatial light modulators, developing extreme UV nanophotonic devices, photonic computing, photonics-based sustainable cooling and clean water solutions, and tabletop optical tests for fundamental physics. He obtained his bachelor’s in Law (2007) and Master’s in Law and Political Economy (2009) from Alexandria University, Egypt. He worked as an Assistant Faculty member in Alexandria Law School (2008-2016). He obtained his bachelor’s in Physics and Economics from Illinois Wesleyan University (2012), and his PhD in condensed matter physics and nanophotonics from Case Western Reserve University (2013-2017). He then worked as a postdoctoral scientist in the High Intensity Femtosecond Laser lab at the Institute of Optics, University of Rochester (2018-2021) before joining the Quantum Photonics Group at MIT. He has published more than 80 publications, a book, and several patents. In his free time, Mohamed enjoys spending time with his two daughters.

Selected Publications:
 
[1] M. ElKabbash, T. Letsou, S.A. Jalil, N. Hoffman, J. Zhang, J. Rutledge, A.R. Lininger, C.-H. Fann, M. Hinczewski, G. Strangi, Fano-resonant ultrathin film optical coatings, Nature Nanotechnology, 16 (2021) 440-446.
 
[2] M. ElKabbash, E. Miele, A.K. Fumani, M.S. Wolf, A. Bozzola, E. Haber, T.V. Shahbazyan, J. Berezovsky, F. De Angelis, G. Strangi, Cooperative energy transfer controls the spontaneous emission rate beyond field enhancement limits, Physical Review Letters, 122 (2019) 203901.
 
[3] K.J. Lee, R. Wei, Y. Wang, J. Zhang, W. Kong, S.K. Chamoli, T. Huang, W. Yu, M. ElKabbash, C. Guo, Gigantic suppression of recombination rate in 3D lead-halide perovskites for enhanced photodetector performance, Nature Photonics, 17 (2023) 236-243.
 
[4] M. ElKabbash, Probing general relativity-induced decoherence using an on-chip Sagnac interferometer, Optics Letters, 50 (2025) 5169-5172.
 
[5] M. ElKabbash, Radiative Cooling with Angular Shields to Mitigate Atmospheric and Parasitic Heat Loads, Optics Letters (2025).