The excitation of surface plasmons by light is denoted as a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for planar surfaces or localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) for nanometer-sized metallic structures.  LSPR distributed conduction appears to be present in some plant leaf structures.  It is known that arrays of vanadate meta-structures provide a platform for such energy transfer, and that meta-materials often demonstrate unusual optical properties, such as negative permittivity and permeability, giving rise to negative refractive indices.  The lab's research focuses on attempts to understand such effects in botanical specimens.

We are also interested in the history of the Blues, renaissance wind instruments, graduate student networking, and various photographic microscopy techniques.

URLs to Web sites with open-access to various articles the lab has produced may be reached via links posted on the Selected Publications page.

1. "Mapping the Blues Genes; Early Music:  1900-1930"
   http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/faculty_archives/blues_mount/index.html
   
2. "Exile From Olynthus; Women in Archeology: Mentoring and Networking"
   http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/faculty_archives/dessy/M_HOME-PAGE.htm
   
3. "Birefringent organic crystals. Butterflies on glass"
   http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artnov08/rd-crystals.html
   
4. "Hairy' insects and spiders - spurs, spines, setae, and sensilla"
   http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artjan09/rd-hairs.html
   
5. "The Joys of Busking; or Down and Out in Bonn and Brussels"
   http://www.recorderhomepage.net/busking.html
   
6. "The Clay Pot That Sings:The Ocarina of Time"
   http://www.recorderhomepage.net/ocarina.pdf