Duncan Steel Thesis Prize

Duncan Steel

Duncan G. Steel is the Robert J. Hiller Professor Emeritus of Engineering, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering, and Professor Emeritus of Physics, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan. He received his A.B. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972 and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1976. Before joining the Michigan faculty, he spent a decade as a research physicist at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.

Professor Steel’s research focused on coherent nonlinear laser spectroscopy, quantum optics in condensed matter physics, and the optical control of quantum information systems. He is widely recognized for pioneering work in coherent optical control of quantum dots, including the first demonstrations of optically driven quantum logic gates and quantum entanglement in semiconductor nanostructures. Throughout his career, Steel has supervised 62 doctoral students, with many of his former students now holding leading roles in academia and industry. He played a central role in establishing Michigan’s leadership in optics and quantum engineering. His achievements have been recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids from the American Physical Society, and election as a Fellow of the APS, OSA, and IEEE.