Nick Vamivakas receives the G. Graydon '58 and Jane W. Curtis Award for Nontenured Faculty Teaching Excellence

April 29, 2015

Congratulations to Dr. Nick Vamivakas, assistant professor of quantum optics and quantum physics, recipient of the G. Graydon ’58 and Jane W. Curtis Award for Nontenured Faculty Teaching Excellence. An innovator and a rising star, Nick joined the University in 2011, and has already earned high marks for his teaching abilities, scientific contributions, and scholarly activities.

Vamivakas is an accomplished researcher and gifted teacher, known for his high energy, passion, and ability to explain complex concepts in simpler terms. Students say that he is approachable and that he knows them well. He frequently polls his classes for feedback and makes course adjustments as needed.

Vamivakas is also active in outreach activities, with the aim of encouraging high school students from underrepresented groups to consider careers in science and engineering. For example, he has run the weeklong Optics Photon Camp, a summer high school program aimed at getting students interested in optics.

He received his PhD in electrical and computer engineering from Boston University in 2007. While a graduate student there, he developed high-resolution microscopy and spectroscopy techniques to study the electro-optic properties of individual nanostructures.