John Federici, PhD, is a distinguished professor in the department of physics at New Jersey Institute of Technology whose research interests span terahertz or sub-millimeter wave imaging, spectroscopy, and sub-millimeter wireless communication to ink-jet printed sensors and devices.

He has been the lead writer on more than 70 publications in scholarly journals and holds 7 patents. His most recent patents emphasize Terahertz synthetic aperture imaging. Federici and other physicists at NJIT recently received a U.S. Patent for a Terahertz imaging system and method. Since 1995, Terahertz imaging has grown in importance as new and sophisticated devices and equipment have empowered scientists to understand its potential.

Federici and his team have published extensively on the use of Terahertz Imaging for detection of concealed explosives, weapons, and drugs. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security,  Army Research Office and National Science Foundation have provided funding for this research since 2002. His research has focused on adapting synthetic aperture imaging techniques to the Terahertz range. The advantage of this imaging method is the ability to reconstruct THz images with a minimal number of detectors. Most recently, his team had demonstrated that the imaging methodology can produce THz images at a video rate. [Z. Liu, K. Su, D. E. Gary, J. F. Federici, R. B. Barat, and Z.-H. Michalopoulou, ‘Video-rate terahertz interferometric and synthetic aperture imaging’, Appl. Optics 48, 3788-95 (2009).]

Federici has recently garnered praise for his work: In September 2005, he received NJIT’s top research honor—the Harlan Perlis Research Award—and in November 2005 accepted an award for his Terahertz work from the Research & Development Council of New Jersey. In November 2009, the Research & Development Council recognized his contribution to the development of “smart” coatings for US Army vehicles. The council honors and helps those individuals upholding the legacies of Albert Einstein and Thomas Alva Edison, both of whom lived and worked most of their lives in New Jersey.

He received his doctorate in plasma physics from Princeton University and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Last update: Feb. 11, 2010