Dr. Roberto Merlin

Biography

Roberto Merlin is a Professor of Physics and holds the Peter Franken Collegiate Professorship at the University of Michigan. He received his Licenciado en Ciencias Fisicas (M.S.) degree from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1973, and his Dr. rer. nat. (Ph.D.) degree from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, in 1978. He joined the University of Michigan's Physics faculty in 1980, also taking a joint appointment with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2000. His primary research specialty is experimental condensed matter physics, focusing on ultrafast optical techniques, such as spontaneous and stimulated Raman spectroscopy. He has made significant contributions to the understanding of coherent vibrational and electronic fields generated by ultrafast laser and x-ray pulses, and has collaboratively worked on topics such as Fibonacci superlattices and quantum-confined Pockels effect. Merlin is also recognized for his theoretical contributions in ultrafast science and metamaterials. He has been an influential figure in the academic community, serving in various leadership roles and receiving numerous prestigious awards and fellowships, including from the American Physical Society and the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Research Interests