Brandon G. Hacha

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Hi! My name is Brandon Hacha (HACK-uh like how I imagine “hacker” would sound from someone with a thick Boston accent, such as Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting).

I am a Ph.D. candidate in analytical chemistry, as a member of Randall Goldsmith’s group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Despite my formal training in analytical chemistry, my research is much better described as a combination of physics and engineering. Currently, I am working to fabricate topological photonic crystals using additive manufacturing techniques.

Simply put, I want to 3D print devices that make light behave… unusually.

Check out some of my other pages to learn more about what this means if you’re interested. Otherwise, the gist is that new methods for controlling light can give us new methods of doing chemical analysis – like more sensitive spectroscopy.

Of course, the path to this goal is always harder than it first appears. My undergraduate advisor, Dr. Michael Columbia at Purdue Fort Wayne, taught me well the rule of twos: however hard, time-consuming, and expensive you think something in science will be, double that. I’ll have to say that seems like an optimistic approach as I look back on my work now. Still it’s absolutely clear that I’ve amassed a great deal of knowledge about my work and that of my colleagues.

Here are some of the more concrete skills that I’ve acquired during my Ph.D. and am particularly proud of:

  • Optical/Electromagnetic simulation (FDTD: Lumerical, MEEP, Tidy3D; FEM: COMSOL)
  • Multi-photon polymerization (a.k.a 2-photon polymerization, direct laser writing, multiphoton lithography)
  • micro x-ray tomography, $\mu$-CT
  • Optics handling and alignment in visible and NIR.

And some of the other areas I consider myself to be exceptionally knowledgeable in include:

  • Photonic crystals
  • Topological photonics and acoustics
  • Optical micro-/nano-resonators
  • Random lasing
  • Electroless deposition of metals

I anticipate graduating in early-to-mid 2025 and am always on the lookout for post-doctoral research positions. If you’re also looking that far ahead and like what you see here, please send me some information via email at !