Profiles

Dr. Yating Wan is an Assistant Professor at KAUST, specializing in Silicon Photonics with a focus on integrating on-chip light sources that can be applied to data communication, optical computing, OPA based lidar, and quantum information processing. She earned her Ph.D. in 2017 from HKUST (supervised by Prof. Kei May Lau). From 2016 to 2022, she worked at UCSB (supervised by Prof. John Bowers), where she led Intel’s project on heterogeneously integrated quantum dot lasers, making significant contributions to Si CMOS-compatible light sources. 

Dr. Wan has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, including 29 first-author journal papers (10 as covers), 7 corresponding-author journal papers, and >20 invited talks in international conferences. With over 3,600 citations and an h-index of 32, her research has received prestigious awards, including 2016-17 HKUST PhD Research Excellence Award (2 awardees per year), 2018 PIERS Young Scientist Award, 2021 CLEO Tingye Li Innovation Prize, 2022 Rising Stars of Light by Light: Science & Applications, 2023 “35 Innovators Under 35 for China” by MIT Technology Review,  2024 Optica Ambassador), 2025 IEEE Photonics Society Young Investigator Award, and 2025 Sony Women in Technology Award with Nature.

Outside of her immediate research spectrum, Dr. Wan has been a proactive contributor to the broader academic community. She is the Manager & Column Editor for the LSA Editorial Office in Thuwal, Associate editor in Applied Optics, IEEE JQE, guest associate editor in IEEE JSTQE, TPC of IPC and CLEO, and Committee Member of the IEEE Photonics Society (IPS) Conference Council. She has also been a referee for a myriad of prestigious journals, spanning IEEE, OSA, and the Nature Publishing Group more than 100 times.

An expert in silicon photonics, Dr. Wan specializes in on-chip light source integration. Her research extends to data communication, optical computing and quantum information processing. She is renowned for integrating long-wavelength quantum dot devices on silicon.

Dr. Aram Mkrtchyan is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory (IPL) at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), where he works under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan. He earned his Ph.D. in Photonics from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), where he specialized in nonlinear optics, ultrafast fiber lasers, and photonic integrated circuits. He received his M.Sc. degrees in parallel from Skoltech and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), and holds a B.Sc. degree in Applied Physics and Mathematics from MIPT.

Before joining KAUST in 2025, Dr. Mkrtchyan served as a Senior Research Scientist at Skoltech, contributing to both academic and industry-driven initiatives, including the Huawei Innovation Research Program and Skoltech's Translational Research and Innovation Program. His achievements include the development and commercialization of an ultrafast all-fiber laser at 920 nm, used as a pump source for single-photon quantum emitters in quantum computing systems, advanced studies on carbon nanotube-based photonic devices, and the development of a hybrid microresonator-based frequency comb system. 

In 2024, Dr. Mkrtchyan was nominated for the Skoltech Educational Leadership Excellence Award, honoring for demonstrating leadership and best practices in making Skoltech the top choice for international education in Russia.
Dr. Mkrtchyan has authored over 15 peer-reviewed publications, including articles in Nano Letters, Nanophotonics, Carbon, Journal of Power Sources, Applied Physics Letters, Journal of Lightwave Technology, etc and holds several patents in the fields of ultrafast optics and integrated photonics. His research focuses on nonlinear optics, integrated photonics, ultrafast fiber lasers, Quantum nanomaterials including carbon nanotubes for photonic applications.
 

Dr. Mkrtchyan’s research focuses on nonlinear optics, integrated photonics, ultrafast fiber lasers, Quantum nanomaterials including carbon nanotubes for photonic applications.

Dr. Defan Sun is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory (IPL) under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). He earned his B.S. degree from the China University of Petroleum (UPC) in 2020 and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS).

Before joining KAUST, he worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for four years (2021-2025). During this time, he was a core member of several key research projects, including the National Key R&D Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and collaborative projects with Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. His research focuses on the development and application of optical frequency combs based on mode-locked lasers. He has published 11 peer-reviewed articles (7 as first and corresponding authors) such as Photonics Research, Optics Express, and Optics Communications, etc.

He was recognised as the Outstanding Graduate of Shandong Province in 2020 and the Director's Scholarship of the Institute of Semiconductors, CAS in 2025. 

Dr.Sun’s research focuses on the development and application of optical frequency combs based on mode-locked lasers, specifically covering Optical Frequency Comb Generation based on Mode-Locked Lasers, Photonic Integrated Circuits, and Silicon-based Heterogeneous Integrated Photonic Chips. 

Dr. Hongyan Yu is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory (IPL) under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Before joining KAUST, he received his B. S. degree in Material Physics from Harbin University of Science and Technology, in 2015, and M. Sc. degree in Optical Engineering from Beijing University of Technology, in 2019. He earned his Ph.D degree in Optical Engineering from Zhejiang University - Westlake University joint program, in 2023.
Prior to joining IPL, Dr. Yu was a postdoctoral scholar at Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2023-2025). He has published over 15 peer-reviewed articles (10 first and corresponding authors), including Nature Communications, ACS Photonics, APL Photonics, Journal of Lightwave Technology, etc. 

Dr. Yu’s research interests include heterogeneous integrated optical chip, high-speed electro-optic modulator, optical computing.

Dr. Weiping Li is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory (IPL) under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Before joining KAUST, he received his B. S. degree in National University of Defense and Technology, in 2016, and Ph. D. degree in Fudan University, in 2024. 
Prior to joining IPL, Dr. Li was a postdoctoral scholar at Institute of Advanced Chips and Systems, Fudan University. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles , with more than 30 as first and corresponding authors, including Optical Fiber Communications Conference (Post deadline paper), Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Journal of Lightwave Technology, Science China Information Sciences, Optics Letters, etc. Dr. Li won the 2024 Shanghai Outstanding Graduate. In addition, he was selected into the list of top 2% scientists in the world in 2025.
 

Dr. Li’s research interests include integrated photonics-aided LIDAR, Quantum dot lasers, broadband photonics-aided terahertz communication and sensing, etc.

Dr. Xiaowen is a Postdoc Fellow at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Before joining KAUST, he received his B.E. degree in Material Science from South China University of Technology in 2013. He received the Ph.D. degree from the South China University of Technology in 2017 and completed 2-year postdoctoral research in Zhejiang University. He previously published 15 SCI journals (8 first author), including Nano Lett., Nano Res., Chem. Mater., etc. His current research focus towards the integration of 2D materials on silicon-photonics and the nonlinear optics of optical waveguides. His work aims to explore the unique properties of these materials and their potential applications in the field of integrated photonics.

Dr. Xiaowen’s research interests are 2D integrated silicon photonics, nonlinear optics.

Dr. Ying is a Postdoc Fellow at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Before joining KAUST, he received his B.E. degree in Communication Engineering from Lanzhou University in 2017 with some honors such as the First Price Scholarship, School Outstanding Graduates Awards. He received the Ph.D. degree from the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communication Systems and Networks at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2022. His Ph.D. doctoral research focuses on polymer waveguide technology for high-speed optical circuit board application. He previously published 16 journals and conference papers, including the first author's 3 OE, 1 OL, OFC, OECC, etc. He now pivots himself towards the silicon photonics integrated circuit platform and its applications.

Dr. Ying’s research interests are optical interconnects, silicon photonics.

MSc: ITMO University (Russia) 2023-2025, Dankook University (South Korea) 2024 (February-June)

BSc: ITMO University (Russia) 2019 – 2023 (honours degree)

Polina's research interests are in applications of integrated photonics and lasers for optical and quantum communications.

Saud received his bachelor's degree in 2023 in Physics from King Fahad University of Petroleum and minerals (KFUPM). He is currently working towards a master’s degree under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

Saud’s research interests are in applications of integrate photonics for optical computing and LiDAR.

William He is a Ph.D. student at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Before joining KAUST, William did his undergraduate study in University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), ranked in the top ~10%  and obtained Dean's Honors for his outstanding performance. William has actively participated in research since his second year in UCSB and has been a co-author of three high-quality journals. Besides academic research experiences, William has also been actively participating in several volunteer work, extracurricular activities, and one internship in Pacific Transformer Corporation in United States.

William's research interests include integrated Si photonics and its applications in data centers. 

Xiangpeng Ou is a Ph.D. student at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Before joining KAUST, Xiangpeng received a B.E. degree in Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) in 2018 and a M.S.degree in Microelectronics and solid state electronics from the Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMECAS) in 2022. Xiangpeng had three-year experience in Si photonics design and characterization, three-year hands-on fabrication and characterization experience in Si photonics on IMECAS’s 8-inch standard silicon photonics platform, strong and comprehensive research capability with 4 first-author SCI journals (OE) and 1 conference paper (SPIE/COS Photonics) published, 6 patents applied, and 1 SCI journal submitted. 

Xiangpeng's research interests are in Silicon Photonics and its applications, including LiDAR, biosensing, and quantum information processing.

Xiaoyi Song received his Bachelor's degree in Electronic Science and Technology from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) in 2022 and is currently pursuing a Master's degree at UESTC. Before joining KAUST, he engaged in research on magneto-optical integration and integrated photonics for three years. His research experience encompasses the deposition, design, and characterization of magneto-optical materials and photonic devices, including phase shifters and nonreciprocal components such as optical circulators. He has published a research paper in Photonics Research.

Xiaoyi’s research interests are in Silicon photonics and its applications, including on-chip light source, LiDAR, and nonreciprocal optical devices.

Xin Yao comes from the School of Gifted Young at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), which is designed for the most talented young students in China. Xin majored in Photoelectric Information Science and Engineering, during the past three years study, he won Silver Award for excellent students (Top~10％) and Freshmen Scholarship. Because of the experience in ‘Jiuzhang’ quantum computing laboratory, he is interested in the Si photonics and integrated optical circuits, which show promise for stable quantum computation. He started his MS/PhD study in IPL in the August 2023.

Silicon photonics, on-chip lasers, heterogeneous integration

Xuhao Wu is a Ph.D. student at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). He received his B.E degree in Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology and M.S. degree in Photonics from Ghent University. After graduation from Ghent University, Xuhao joined a spin-off company of IMEC, Luceda Photonics, and worked as an application and PDK development engineer. During his time there, Xuhao honed his programming skills and provided exceptional customer support, assisting over 50 individuals with their design projects. Additionally, he conducted training sessions, including two workshops with 100 attendees each, and delivered lectures at universities, including Shanghai Jiaotong University and Zhejiang University. Xuhao's contributions also include building IPKISS PDK for various foundries on the SOI/SiN/SiON platform.

Xuhao’s research interests are in applications of integrated photonics for optical computing, LiDAR, and optical communication.

Yuxuan Xie is a Ph.D. student at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Before joining KAUST, Yuxuan received a B.E. degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and spent a year-long exchange program in University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 2022.  In the spring of 2023, he will begin his studies at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

Silicon photonics, short-link optical communication, and high-performance optical sources such as quantum dot lasers are among Yuxuan's research interests.

Zhican Zhou is Ph.D. student at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Before joining KAUST, Zhican received his bachelor's degree (majoring in materials engineering) from Chongqing University (CQU) in 2019 and his master's degree (majoring in photonics) from the joint-cultivation program of Nankai University (NKU) and the National Center for Nanoscience (NCNST) in 2022. Zhican ranked in the top ~5% for both his undergraduate and postgraduate studies. He obtained numerous honors for his outstanding performance, including the First Price Scholarship, Outstanding Graduate of Chongqing University, and the Nankai University Freshman Scholarship. During his postgraduate studies, he mastered the skills of fabrication, modelling, and simulation for electronic devices. Zhican had published a total of 7 journals, 4 of which he was the first or co-first author. 

Zhican's research interests are in Silicon Photonics and novel heterogeneous computing hardware system development (including optical computing systems, memristor computing systems, etc.).

Zichun earned his Bachelor's degree in Microelectronics Science and Engineering from Sun Yat-sen University in 2023 and is currently pursuing a Master of Philosophy degree in The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou). He has been honored with several prestigious awards that highlight his exceptional achievements, including the Excellent Graduation Thesis Award from SYSU (Top 5%), the Meijiayin Scholarship, and the Red Bird Full Postgraduate Scholarship at HKUST(GZ). 

During his postgraduate studies, Zichun has developed strong expertise in the modeling, design and testing of photonic integrated circuits and optoelectronic systems.

Dr. Dong’s research interests include quantum-dot lasers for silicon photonics integrated circuits, optical frequency combs, and the nonlinear dynamics of semiconductor lasers.

B.S. in Nanotechnology, CNyN, UNAM, México 2020-2024 (GPA: 3.94/4.0)

Diego’s research interests are photonic quantum information technologies.