IMRE Scientist received T-Up Excellence Award 2024

IMRE Senior Scientist, Dr Egor Khaidarov received the T-Up Excellence Award 2024 on 28 October 2024. This recognition is part of the Technology for Enterprise Capability Upgrading (T-Up) initiative, which underscores Singapore's commitment to fostering innovation and strengthening our local enterprises' research and development (R&D) landscape. The brilliant minds of A*STAR Research Scientists & Engineers (RSEs) are central to this initiative and are seconded to these enterprises to drive transformative change and propel businesses toward remarkable success.

The annual T-Up Excellence Awards honour the exceptional accomplishments of A*STAR RSEs seconded to local enterprises under the T-Up scheme. Their steadfast dedication and innovative skills have not only enriched the R&D capabilities of these companies but also spurred tangible business outcomes, enhancing growth and competitiveness within the SME ecosystem. The T-Up Excellence Awards specifically celebrate the remarkable contributions of A*STAR RSEs in developing innovative, market-ready products and strengthening the R&D capacities of local enterprises.

Dr Khaidarov shared insights on his rewarding T-Up experience with us:

At A*STAR IMRE, my research primarily focuses on flat optics and metalens design and fabrication. Metalenses contribute to making devices thinner, lighter, and more efficient, potentially reducing power use and decreasing carbon emissions.

My passion for metalenses, coupled with a decade of experience, motivated me to work in this field. Metalenses are sufficiently advanced to address real-world challenges and are in high demand across many industries as they are a fundamental component in various optical devices like smartphones, sensors, projectors, AR/VR, cameras, microscopes, telescopes, and ranging equipment. I'm always eager to witness the novel products that emerge from applied research at IMRE and A*STAR. Metaoptics is a local startup with a small yet talented and effective team. I was intrigued by the opportunity to immerse myself in that environment, engage with industry leaders, and tackle challenges not typically encountered in academic research.

Metaoptics Technologies Pte Ltd (MOT) is a Singapore startup founded in 2021. MOT distinguishes itself through its unique capability to miniaturize lens sizes, overcoming current limitations in most consumer and IoT applications. This breakthrough not only addresses the challenges associated with conventional lenses but also anticipates a more cost-effective manufacturing process.

At Metaoptics, I was responsible for designing and developing innovative metalens technologies for various applications, including smartphones and projectors. My primary objective was to establish a design and simulation infrastructure enabling Metaoptics to become vertically integrated in metalens manufacturing. I was also involved in customer engagement and preliminary design. Within less than a year, we successfully released real commercial products: a single-layer metalens color camera, a non-contact fingerprint scanner, and a metalens picoprojector.

Working with the Metaoptics team and engaging with clients taught me a great deal. I highly recommend the T-Up program to other researchers. It’s a unique opportunity to apply your research in a real-world setting, collaborate with industry leaders, and see the tangible impact of your work. My advice is to embrace challenges and be open to learning from the industry perspective, as it can significantly enhance your research and professional development.

For more information on the T-Up initiatives, reach out to us at industry@imre.a-star.edu.sg.