Svetlana V Boriskina

Background and Education

Svetlana Boriskina develops new materials and technologies to harvest and manipulate light and other forms of radiation. Her multi-disciplinary research blends nanophotonics, plasmonics, electronics, thermodynamics and mechanics. Svetlana makes smart fabrics that provide thermal comfort indoors and outdoors and stay clean no matter what, new meta-materials that exhibit color without any dyes or pigments and change it in response to external stimuli, and novel solar harvesting platforms that can provide clean energy and fresh water to off-electrical-grid and disaster-stricken communities. She is the author and co-author of more than 130 peer-reviewed papers, several award-winning courses, and multiple patens. Svetlana is a passionate advocate for science education and science public communication, which she supports via leadership in professional science organizations, conferences, and journal editorial boards, mentorship of student groups, and public outreach.

Awards and Honors

• MIT Water Innovation Prize | 2021
• TechConnect Innovation Award | 2019
• Joint Award of ICO (International Commission for Optics) and ICTP (Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics) | 2007
• Postdoctoral Fellowship (UK), Royal Society/NATO | 1999-2000
• Graduate Student Scholarship Award, IEEE MTT Society | 1997
• Post-Graduate Merit Student Scholarship, Soros Foundation | 1996-1997
• Graduate Fellowship in Advanced Electromagnetics, SUMMA Foundation | 1996