Justus Ndukaife (Ph.D.)
About Justus Ndukaife (Ph.D.)
Justus Ndukaife (Ph.D.) is an Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University, leading the Laboratory for Innovation in Optofluidics and Nanophotonics (LION). He specializes in nanophotonics, microfluidics, and bio-inspired soft actuators, with a strong background in nanofabrication and optical characterization.
Current Role at Vanderbilt University
Justus Ndukaife, Ph.D., currently serves as an Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University in the Greater Nashville Area, TN. He leads the Ndukaife Laboratory and heads the Laboratory for Innovation in Optofluidics and Nanophotonics (LION) within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research is focused on nanophotonics, microfluidics, and novel bio-inspired soft actuators and robots. Dr. Ndukaife's projects are funded by prestigious institutions, including the US National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.
Previous Experience at Purdue University
Dr. Ndukaife gained significant experience during his tenure at Purdue University from 2012 to 2017. He worked as a Ph.D. candidate in Electrical Engineering and a Research Assistant at the Purdue Water Institute and Birck Nanotechnology Center. His research focused on advanced hybrid techniques for plasmon-assisted optical trapping, plasmonics, and nanofabrication. From 2010 to 2012, he also served as a Research Assistant at the Purdue Water Institute.
Educational Background
Justus Ndukaife earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, where he studied advanced hybrid techniques for plasmon-assisted optical trapping and nanofabrication from 2012 to 2016. Prior to that, he completed his undergraduate education at the University of Lagos. His academic journey has equipped him with expertise in nanophotonic and metasurface design, electromagnetic modeling, and optical characterization.
Notable Achievements
Dr. Ndukaife has received several prestigious awards throughout his career. These include the Chorafas Foundation Award for his outstanding Ph.D. dissertation in 2017, the 2016 College of Engineering Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award, the NSBE Golden Torch Award as Graduate Student of the Year in 2015, and the Best Paper Award at the ASME IMECE conference in 2015. He also delivered a late-breaking talk at the esteemed Gordon Research Conference on Plasmonics and Nanophotonics in 2016.
Research Contributions and Publications
Dr. Ndukaife has made significant contributions to the field of nanophotonics and microfluidics. His research has been published in top-tier peer-reviewed journals such as Nature Nanotechnology, Science, ACS Nano, and Nano Letters. He focuses on developing nano-optical tweezers, engineering thermal emission using plasmonic metasurfaces, and engaging in biomedical research involving extracellular vesicles. He collaborates actively with the Vanderbilt Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE) and the Center for Extracellular Vesicles Research at Vanderbilt University.