Biography

Thomas Suleski is Professor of Physics and Optical Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, with over 30 years of experience in optical design and manufacturing. He is Site Director for the NSF I/UCRC Center for Freeform Optics (CeFO). CeFO’s mission is to advance research and education in the science, engineering, and applications of systems based on freeform optics through dedicated industry/university partnerships.

Professor Suleski received the BS in Physics from the University of Toledo in 1991, and MS and PhD degrees in Physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1993 and 1996, respectively. He was at Digital Optics Corporation from 1996 until 2003, most recently as Manager of New Technology. While at Digital Optics, he worked with a wide range of military and commercial partners on the design, application, and manufacturing of micro-optical components and systems. He joined the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2003.

Professor Suleski is co-author of Diffractive Optics: Design, Fabrication, and Test (SPIE Press) and serves as Senior Editor for the Journal of Optical Microsystems. He served as Senior Editor for the Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS and MOEMS from 2004-2020. He has held multiple leadership roles for international professional societies, including chairing or co-chairing many international technical conferences on optics. Professor Suleski is a Fellow of Optica (the Optical Society of America), and a Fellow of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering. He is the 2017 recipient of the John J. Turin Award for Outstanding Career Accomplishments from the University of Toledo.

Research Interests and Expertise

• Micro- and nanoscale optics
• Freeform and conformal optics
• Optical microsystems
• Optical manufacturing
• Near-field diffraction of periodic structures