Roberto D. Merlin is an Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 physicist

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 and Peter A. Franken Collegiate Professor of Physics and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. He is known, among other things, for his work on quasiperiodic superlattice

Superlattice

Superlattice is a periodic structure of layers of two materials. Typically, the thickness of one layer is several nanometers.- Discovery :Superlattices were discovered early in the 20th century through their special X-ray diffraction patterns....

s, squeezed phonons, and, most recently, for the discovery of "superfocusing", a method for creating lenses that can surpass the diffraction limit without using negative refraction materials

Superlens

A superlens, super lens or perfect lens is a lens which uses metamaterials to go beyond the diffraction limit. The diffraction limit is an inherent limitation in conventional optical devices or lenses. In 2000, a type of lens was proposed, consisting of a metamaterial that compensates for wave...

.

Honors and awards

• Von Humboldt Fellowship
  Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
  The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is a foundation set-up by the government of the Federal Republic and funded by the German Foreign Office, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and others for the promotion of international co-operation...
  
   (1987)
• Isakson Prize
  Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids
  The Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids is a prize that has been awarded every second year by the American Physical Society since 1980. The recipient is chosen for "outstanding optical research that leads to breakthroughs in the condensed matter sciences."...
  
   (2006)
• Guggenheim Fellowship
  Guggenheim Fellowship
  Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
  
  (2007)

External links

• New superlens could run rings around the rest, New Scientist, July 12, 2007
• Simple 'superlens' sharpens focusing power, New Scientist, April 24, 2008