Welcome! We are the research group of Jen Dionne, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University. We are a diverse team of materials scientists, chemists, applied physicists, electrical engineers, chemical engineers, and mechanical engineers.
Through the design of new optical materials and microscopies, we observe chemical and biological processes as they unfold with nanometer scale resolution. We then use these observations to improve energy-relevant processes (such and photocatalysis and energy storage) and medical diagnostics and therapeutics.
Please feel free to navigate this site or contact us for more information!
What is a typical day like for a researcher in our group? Check out our videos to learn more about our science and our culture. If you like what you see and want to join our team, please send us your resume. We're always on the lookout for smart, creative people.
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| Group Video, June 2015 | Russian River Canoe Trip, July 2014 |
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| Upconversion | Nanoscale optical tomography |
Latest News
June 12: The Dionne Lab wins Stanford's Inaugural Catalyst Grant to develop a rapid diagnostic for bacterial blood steam infections. Congratulations to Amr, Shing-Shing, and our collaborators in the Schools of Medicine and Business! 
April 17: Jen is named the 2017 Outstanding Young Investigator by the Materials Research Society! Thank you to my nominators and to MRS!
April 4: Jen is named a PMSE (polymeric materials: science and engineering) Outstanding Young Investigator at the Spring 2017 ACS meeting. Nano Letters Young Investigator Lectureship. Thank you, ACS and Nano Letters!
April 3: Jen is awarded the Nano Letters Young Investigator Lectureship. Thank you, ACS and Nano Letters!
February 10: Congratulations to Shing-Shing and Fariah on their two latest publications, in Nature Communications and ACS Photonics!
January 19: Michael Wisser defends his PhD! Congratulations, soon-to-be Dr. Wisser!
December 15: Justin Briggs and Brian Baum both successfully defend their theses! Congratulations, soon-to-be doctors!
December 8: The D-Lab is featured on the Nanovation podcast. Thanks, Mike Filler for hosting us!!
November 27: Yang attends fall MRS and gives an invited talk on the D-Lab's work to enhance enantioselective optical forces.
October 19: Jen and Miriam are awarded a BioX seed grant. The press release is here. Let the worm-feeding feast begin! 
September 26: Welcome to the newest D-Lab member, Hugo Vinh Dionne Vu, 7lbs, 9oz.
Featured Research
I. Hot carriers enable new upconversion scheme:
Guru and co-authors have demonstrated a new upconversion scheme that combines plasmonic metal nanodisks with quantum wells. This scheme has potential to overcome the small absorption cross sections and narrow linewidths of traditional upconverters to improve internal quantum efficiency up to 50%. Using a system of Au/Ag disks and GaN/InGaN quantum wells, light is upconverted from 500 to 440 nm as hot electrons and holes are injected into the quantum well, where they recombine. The system shows a size- and wavelength- dependence corresponding to plasmon resonance, and a linear power dependence. This work is now published online in Nano Letters!
II. Upconverting nanoparticles as color-changing force sensors:
Alice and co-authors have developed upconverting force sensors with sub-25 nm size, nano- to micro-Newton sensitivity, and photostable color readout. These nanoparticles host crystal field sensitive d-metal ions (Mn2+), which energetically couple to the upconverting lanthanide ions (Yb3+,Er3+). Under external stress, the coupling is tuned, yielding a change from orange to red for cubic-phase nanoparticles or yellow-green to green for hexagonal-phase nanoparticles. This work is now published online in Nano Letters!
III. Light-mediated enantioselective separation:
Shing-Shing has developed an optical technique to separate enantiomers, utilizing nanoparticles supporting optical-frequency magnetic resonances. Her computational approach indicates that nanoparticles can increase enantiomeric excesses 7 times beyond circularly polarized light alone, providing a route toward cost-effective separations in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. This work is now available in the latest issue of ACS Photonics!
