Graduate student receives Grainger Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship

Biomedical engineering PhD candidate Samir Rosas received a prestigious Grainger Fellowship for graduate researchers.

Rosas received his master’s degree in electrical engineering from the National University of Colombia, and worked in industry before returning to school to earn his PhD. “I was driven by a passion for pushing the boundaries of knowledge in biophotonics, spectroscopy and sensing,” he said.

Working in Assistant Professor Filiz Yesilkoy’s lab, Rosas’ research is driven by his curiosity about light and its interactions with small molecules. By harnessing the unique properties of mid-infrared light coupled with nanophotonic optical chips, Rosas aims to rapidly and accurately find biomarkers, which can help with early disease diagnosis and other scientific studies.

“My work represents a convergence of cutting-edge technologies, leveraging advances in optical chip nanofabrication and spectroscopy to develop highly sensitive and selective biosensors,” he said.

As he starts his final year of his graduate studies, Rosas said the fellowship will give his PhD the final push it needs. It will allow him to complete two projects, both of which focus on light-matter interaction in the mid-infrared spectrum.

“I would like people to appreciate how sophisticated what we call ‘light’ is,” Rosas said. “It not only governs numerous physical phenomena on Earth, it also allows us to analyze the composition of tiny biomolecules to diagnose diseases early.”