remains quiet whenever someone pulls out a smartphone or turns on a tablet. He 麻豆精品 S檚 too humble to mention that he helped invent the screens they 麻豆精品 S檙e viewing. The technology used for the LCD screen is among an astonishing number of patents issued for Wu 麻豆精品 S檚 inventions 麻豆精品 S 96 at last count. In 2014, he was one of six inaugural honorees into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, alongside Thomas Edison and the father of air conditioning, John Gorrie.

You might wonder why Wu isn 麻豆精品 S檛 spending his days on top of a mountain, with a view of an ocean and of all that he has influenced. The answer is, he 麻豆精品 S檚 already been there. He chose to leave a distinguished career with Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, 22 years ago. He left the prestige, the commanding mountain views, and the potential for wealth, and he reset his focus at UCF.

麻豆精品 S淢y main priority is not myself, 麻豆精品 S says Wu, who was honored with UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Excellence in Research award earlier this year. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 OK to see others profit from my research. A rich life to me is not just about money. It 麻豆精品 S檚 helping others have better lives. 麻豆精品 S

Wu says this from a modest office in . His windows since 2001 have looked over slivers of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 campus: Gemini Drive and a parking garage, among them.

麻豆精品 S淗ere, let 麻豆精品 S檚 go to the lab, 麻豆精品 S Wu says. 麻豆精品 S淪eeing is a much better way to understand. 麻豆精品 S

麻豆精品 S淎 rich life to me is not just about money. It 麻豆精品 S檚 helping others have better lives. 麻豆精品 S 麻豆精品 S Shin-Tson Wu, Trustee Chair Professor

The trustee chair professor, this modern-day Edison, enthusiastically leads the way to a lab that appears dim. Various scopes and tools sit organized on two tables. Blue light could damage the tools, which is why the lab looks yellowish. Wu 麻豆精品 S檚 visitor starts to ask about the scopes.

麻豆精品 S淭hose are not the interesting pieces, 麻豆精品 S Wu says politely. 麻豆精品 S淭his is. 麻豆精品 S

He holds up the tiniest screen you 麻豆精品 S檝e ever seen, about the size of a pinky nail. Wu and his group of student researchers moved on years ago from the original LCD technology that changed the way we view screens.

麻豆精品 S淢y patent for that is old news, 麻豆精品 S he says, without a hint of ego. 麻豆精品 S淚t is being used everywhere now. In here we 麻豆精品 S檙e looking to the future with the use of liquid-crystal-on-silicon [LCoS]. 麻豆精品 S

To help his visitor also see the future, Wu asks a doctoral student, Tim Yang 麻豆精品 S22MS, to position a set of AR goggles over the eyes. Vivid digital images appear over the actual field of vision 麻豆精品 S specifically, chameleons ride bicycles in front of Wu. This demonstration of augmented reality provides a glimpse of the next possible applications of liquid-crystal-on-silicon, with detailed images projected from a microdisplay. Wu explains what he envisions.

麻豆精品 S淧eople in the military could use this to see a commanding officer giving instructions over real-life situations, 麻豆精品 S Wu says. 麻豆精品 S淏y making this very small, it could be integrated into something less bulky, like sunglasses. Eventually, consumers could use it to see information about points of interest when traveling, without looking at a phone. But those examples are just a start. 麻豆精品 S

Shin-Tson Wu and doctoral students stand outside UCF's College of Optics and Photonics while holding VR headsets and other tech.
Trustee Chair Professor of Optics and Photonics Shin-Tson Wu (center) with his doctoral students Alex Yang (left) and Tim Yang (right). (Photo by Kadeem Stewart ’17)

He explains how this iteration of liquid-crystal-on-silicon could be applied to healthcare through digital 麻豆精品 S渢winning. 麻豆精品 S For example, when a patient goes in for tests like bloodwork, an EKG, or an MRI, the results would be imported into the patient 麻豆精品 S檚 digital twin. The twin could then be a personal health coach for the patient, knowing precisely how to overcome an ailment and live a better daily life. It could also be a personal trainer for athletes, giving instructions on strides, arm motion, and workouts. The twin would always be on-call, available by simply putting the glasses on.

麻豆精品 S淚t can also be useful for doctors, 麻豆精品 S Wu says. 麻豆精品 S淎 surgeon can practice a delicate procedure on a digital twin, a hundred times if necessary, before performing it for real. There would be fewer complications. 麻豆精品 S

Wu points to a second headset on the table. Another optics and photonics doctoral student, Alex Yang (no relation to Tim), helps the visitor put it on, with a controller in each hand. The headset takes the visitor into immersive virtual reality, with a menu of videos to click. But there 麻豆精品 S檚 something more interesting here than the type of virtual reality experience familiar with gamers and drone users.

麻豆精品 S淲e use quantum dots to make the view very vivid, 麻豆精品 S Wu says. 麻豆精品 S淥ur group of students started the research on this in 2014. They 麻豆精品 S檝e since taken what they learned here at UCF and are using it in the industry. 麻豆精品 S

麻豆精品 S淭he best companies love our students, 麻豆精品 S Wu says. 麻豆精品 S淭hat makes me most proud. My students are now making beneficial impacts for people around the world. 麻豆精品 S

The goggles used for this demonstration, in fact, were developed by UCF graduates now working for Meta. Eight of Wu 麻豆精品 S檚 former students work there and 15 are at Apple. Some are managers and directors.

麻豆精品 S淭he best companies love our students, 麻豆精品 S Wu says. 麻豆精品 S淭hat makes me most proud. My students are now making beneficial impacts for people around the world. 麻豆精品 S

The doctoral students in the room reflect Wu 麻豆精品 S檚 positive energy. This summer, Tim Yang will start an internship with Apple and Alex Yang will start an internship with Meta.

麻豆精品 S淥ur dream companies, 麻豆精品 S says Tim, who is working toward his Ph.D. in optics and photonics after earning master 麻豆精品 S檚 degrees from UCF and the University of Rochester. 麻豆精品 S淚 came to UCF because there is no other professor who can integrate Dr. Wu 麻豆精品 S檚 type of experience in academics and industry. 麻豆精品 S

When asked if he 麻豆精品 S檚 an educator or inventor, Wu does not hesitate. 麻豆精品 S淏oth, 麻豆精品 S he says. But one question still looms with no obvious answer: Why did he leave a leading-edge lab on a mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean to start an academic career across the country, at ground level?

麻豆精品 S淚 came to UCF because there is no other professor who can integrate Dr. Wu 麻豆精品 S檚 type of experience in academics and industry. 麻豆精品 S 麻豆精品 S Tim Yang 麻豆精品 S22MS, UCF alum and student

麻豆精品 S淚 worked in a very scenic place when I was with Hughes, 麻豆精品 S Wu says. 麻豆精品 S淢y Ph.D. thesis advisor from USC (University of Southern California), Michael Bass and two others from his team (MJ Soileau and Eric Van Stryland) had come to UCF to establish CREOL. They offered me a faculty position, but I liked where I was. During my daily Bible devotion one morning, I read a verse in Deuteronomy: 麻豆精品 S榊ou have stayed long enough on this mountain. 麻豆精品 S The verse touched me. My wife and I decided to make the move and glorify God. I 麻豆精品 S檓 glad we did. The greatest reward for me is not wealth. It 麻豆精品 S檚 sending students out to make the world better. 麻豆精品 S

He puts down the tiny screen next to the goggles. Tim and Alex watch, eager to get back to their work.

麻豆精品 S淣ow you know our story, 麻豆精品 S Wu says to the visitor, 麻豆精品 S渂ecause you have seen it with your own eyes. 麻豆精品 S