Optical Nanomaterials
Composite nanoparticles, hot-carrier processes, scattering-mediated absorption, and design principles for controlling absorption, emission, and scattering.
Research Overview
Research
Research themes spanning nanophotonics, thermal emission, and cavity quantum electrodynamics.
Precise control over light-matter interactions opens opportunities across chemistry, energy materials, and quantum technology. The Foley Lab develops theoretical and computational tools that help explain and design these interactions across multiple scales.
Our work spans nanoscale optical response, thermal radiation management, spectrally selective emitters, and quantum electrodynamical models for molecules in cavities. We aim to build methods that are both fundamental and useful for experimental collaborators.
Thin Films and Energy Conversion
Thermal emitters, multilayer optical stacks, and materials strategies for solar thermophotovoltaics and related energy technologies.
Ab Initio Cavity QED
Hamiltonian construction, electronic structure in cavities, and photonic effects on molecular structure, spectra, and reactivity.