Arjun G. Yodh

Arjun G. Yodh is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He is currently chair of the department, and until recently (2009–2020), he was Director of The Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter and its National Science Foundation supported Materials Science and Engineering Center.

Yodh’s research at Penn has spanned a remarkably wide range of disciplines from soft and hard condensed matter physics to medical physics, biophysics, biophotonics, and optics. In the field of soft condensed matter physics, Yodh has carried out ground-breaking research on colloids, liquid crystals, fluid drops, and carbon nanotubes. Highlights include observations about coffee rings in drying drops, shape transitions of liquid crystal filled drops, solubilization of carbon nanotubes, entropy-driven interactions and assembly, and the phases and states of ordered, partially ordered, and frustrated materials including glasses. In the field of biomedical optics, Yodh has made pioneering contributions introducing and demonstrating noninvasive diffuse optical monitoring and imaging of blood flow, blood oxygenation, and oxygen metabolism in deep tissues located far below the surface. Translation of these concepts is underway in the clinic for diagnosing and monitoring cancer therapy, brain injury, and muscle disease. In the field of atomic, molecular, and optical physics, Yodh has made notable contributions in quantum optics, muonium spectroscopy, and nonlinear optical spectroscopy of solid-solid interfaces.

In addition to mentoring more than 100 Ph.D. students and post-doctoral associates during his career, Yodh has made significant contributions to STEM education and outreach at Penn. Notable among these efforts are LRSM partnerships with the University of Puerto Rico and research experience programs for undergraduates (NSF-REU), high school students (PSSI), and high school teachers (NSF-RET) in the Philadelphia region and beyond.

Yodh graduated from Cornell University (1981) with a B.Sc. in Applied and Engineering Physics; he obtained his Ph.D. from Harvard (1986), working with Tom Mossberg. He then spent two years at AT&T Bell Laboratories as a post-doc working with Steven Chu and Harry Tom. Yodh joined the faculty at Penn in 1988 and has remained here for his entire career.