Nafisa Has Been Awarded the UTA Honors College URF for Summer 2025.

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We’re excited to share that Nafisa has been selected to receive the prestigious Honors College Undergraduate Research Fellowship (URF) at UTA for Summer 2025, under the mentorship of Dr. Seunghyun (Jacob) Lee.

The URF program supports outstanding undergraduate students as they engage in hands-on research alongside faculty mentors. This competitive fellowship provides students with the opportunity to deepen their academic experience through meaningful research and creative scholarship.

Below is Nafisa’s award acceptance statement.

“It’s surreal how palpable dreams can be, in such a short time. Back in December 2024, I was ending my third semester of undergrad, overwhelmed and unsure of the road ahead. But with the support of my community at UTA and my family and friends, I began taking small steps toward my dream of creating meaningful change through STEM.
I came across EQuIP Lab’s flyer on a UTA student Discord and soon after reached out to Dr. Seunghyun Lee. From my first meeting with Dr. Lee and the team to presenting at our first group session, I was welcomed and inspired to merge my varied academic interests through interdisciplinary research.
Pushing past uncertainty, I leaned into what I call the “blind spot” of college—doing what feels right, even when you’re unsure. Research, to me, is the pursuit of knowledge with the humility of never knowing enough, which is one of the most beautiful feelings I have ever experienced that keeps me going.
Fast forward to April 15th, 2025, just three months into this journey, I’ve been accepted into the Summer 2025 Undergraduate Research Fellowship through the UTA Honors College. I’m deeply grateful to Dr. Lee, the EQuIP Lab team, my mentors back home in Bangladesh and at UTA, family, and friends for believing in me when my self-confidence waned.
To underclassmen: take the leap, no matter how miscalculated your odds are. Whether it’s exploring semiconductors or combining machine learning with new fields, interdisciplinary research is full of unexpected beauty. I’m glad I took that first step and I hope you will be too.”
 

We’re proud of Nafisa’s achievement and look forward to working with her in the EQuIP Lab this summer. Welcome aboard, Nafisa!

Jay and Nafisa Presented Their Posters at the IEEE DCAS 2025

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Jay   Nafisa

Jay and Nafisa recently presented their research during the poster session at IEEE DCAS 2025. They’ve both put in a lot of hard work leading up to this, and it was great to see their efforts recognized on a broader stage.

A special shout-out to Azad as well, who played a key role in preparing the poster. Although he couldn’t attend the conference, his contribution was instrumental in bringing the project together.

Well done, Jay, Nafisa, and Azad! I’m proud of your dedication and teamwork. Looking forward to continuing the momentum with all of you in the EQuIP Lab.

 

Dr. Lee Serves on the Operations Committee at the 2025 UTA Photonics Workshop

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Left: Dr. Lee Right: Student

 

Dr. Lee was part of the operations committee for the 2025 UTA Photonics Workshop and Showcase, held on February 14, 2025, at Nedderman Hall.

This year’s workshop brought together over 140 participants, centered around the theme “Chip-Scale Photonics and Heterogeneous Integration.”

The event featured renowned invited speakers, and attendees had the opportunity to engage in insightful discussions during the panel session.

Expanding Our Capabilities – MBE at the EQuIP Lab

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MBE reactor
We are excited to announce that the EQuIP Lab will soon be equipped with an MBE reactor! This addition will enable us to conduct in-depth material studies for next-generation semiconductor devices and lead us to demonstrate the advancement of semiconductor-based photonic devices.
With this reactor, we will focus on the epitaxial growth of III-V semiconductors, with capabilities to grow Al, In, Ga, As, and Sb on substrates up to 3 inches.

We sincerely appreciate Prof. Wei Guo at UMass Lowell (UML) for their generous donation. The EQuIP Lab team is committed to bringing this tool online as soon as possible at UTA.

For collaboration opportunities, please contact Dr. Seunghyun Jacob Lee.