Light people: Professor Mengkun Liu

Wenjun Zheng; Siqiu Guo

doi:10.1038/s41377-026-02211-x

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Light people: Professor Mengkun Liu

Light People

- Light people: Professor Mengkun Liu
- Light people: Professor Mengkun Liu
- Light: Science & Applications 2026年15卷第6期页码：1768-1772
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
  2.Light Publishing Group, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033, China
  3.Ji Hua Laboratory, Foshan 528200, China
- Author bio：
  
  Wenjun Zheng (wenjun.zheng.1@stonybrook.edu)
  Siqiu Guo (guosq@lightpublishing.cn)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-026-02211-x
  中图分类号：
- 收稿：2026-01-24，
  
  录用：2026-01-25，
  
  网络首发：2026-03-16，
  
  纸质出版：2026-06-30
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Wenjun Zheng, Siqiu Guo. Light people: Professor Mengkun Liu[J]. Light: Science & Applications, 2026,15(6):1768-1772.

Zheng, W. J. & Guo, S. Q. Light people: Professor Mengkun Liu. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 1768-1772 (2026).
Wenjun Zheng, Siqiu Guo. Light people: Professor Mengkun Liu[J]. Light: Science & Applications, 2026,15(6):1768-1772. DOI： 10.1038/s41377-026-02211-x.

Zheng, W. J. & Guo, S. Q. Light people: Professor Mengkun Liu. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 1768-1772 (2026). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-026-02211-x.

摘要

Abstract

At the frontier where light meets quantum matter

Professor Mengkun Liu has built a distinctive research program that integrates advanced optical nanoscopy

quantum materials

and emergent light–matter interactions. As a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University

he leads the Ultrafast & Near-field Infrared Laboratory (UNI-Lab)

where his group pioneers infrared-to-terahertz near-field spectroscopy under extreme conditions

enabling direct visualization of polaritons

collective excitations

and quantum phenomena at the nanoscale. Over the past decade

Professor Liu and his collaborators have not only made fundamental discoveries in quantum materials and nanophotonics but have also reshaped experimental capabilities through instrument innovation - ranging from magneto-near-field optical microscopy to synchrotron-based infrared nanoscopy. In this interview

he reflects on the scientific ideas that drive his research

the philosophy behind building a creative research group

and his perspective on the future of optical science at the quantum frontier.

关键词

Keywords

references

Keilmann, F. & Hillenbrand, R. Near-field microscopy by elastic light scattering from a tip. Philos. Trans. A Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 362 , 787–805 (2004)..

Atkin, J. M., Berweger, S., Jones, A. C. & Raschke, M. B. Nano-optical imaging and spectroscopy of order, phases, and domains in complex solids. Adv. Phys. 61 , 745–842 (2012)..

Chen, X. et al. Modern scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope for advanced material research. Adv. Mater. 31 , 1804774 (2019)..

Hillenbrand, R., Abate, Y., Liu, M. K., Chen, X. & Basov, D. N. Visible-to-THz near-field nanoscopy. Nat. Rev. Mater. 10 , 285–310 (2025)..

Chen, X. et al. Machine learning for optical scanning probe nanoscopy. Adv. Mater. 35 , 2109171 (2022)..

Chen, X. et al. Hybrid machine learning for the scattering-type scanning near-field microscopy. ACS Photonics 8 , 2987 (2021)..

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Stinson, H. T. et al. Imaging the nanoscale phase separation in vanadium dioxide thin films at terahertz frequencies. Nat. Commun. 9 , 3604 (2018)..

Dong, Y. et al. Fizeau drag in graphene plasmonics. Nature 594 , 513–516 (2021)..

Xu, S. et al. Electronic interactions in Dirac fluids visualized by nano-terahertz spacetime mapping. Sci. Adv. 10 , eado5553 (2024)..

Wehmeier, L. et al. Ultrabroadband Terahertz Near-Field Nanospectroscopy with a HgCdTe Detector. ACS Photonics 10 , 4329 (2023)..

Wehmeier, L. et al. Ultrabroadband spacetime nanoscopy of terahertz polaritons in a van der Waals cavity. Small. Jan. 8 , e05899 (2026)..

Basov, D. N. et al. Polaritonic quantum matter. Nanophotonics 14 , 3723–3760 (2025)..

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