Amina Hussein, MS, PhD

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering - Electrical & Computer Engineering Dept

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Contact

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering - Electrical & Computer Engineering Dept
Email
aehussei@ualberta.ca
Address
11-368 Donadeo Innovation Centre For Engineering
9211 116 St
Edmonton AB
T6G 2H5

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

Plasma Physics Laser-matter Interactions Photonics and Plasmas


About

I completed my PhD in Applied Physics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2019, where I was a member of the Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science and conducted experiments using the (former) most intense laser system in the world. Before that, I received a MS in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University and a BSc in Honours Physics from McGill University. I was a University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of California Irvine from 2019-2020 before joining the faculty of Electrical & Computer Engineering as an Assistant Professor in 2020.

I am a Canada Research Chair in Laser-Plasma Interactions. In 2021, I was elected Co-Chair of the User's Committee for the largest consortium of high-power laser facilities in North America, the US Department of Energy led LaserNetUS. I am also a member of the Strategic Planning Committee of the highest power laser system in Canada - the Advanced Laser Light Source in Varennes, Québec. In 2021, I was elected to the Executive Council of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Jupiter Laser Facility Users' Group. I was formerly a member of the Board of Directors of the Fusion Energy Council of Canada

I serve as a Co-Director of Outreach/Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Alberta and a member of the American Physical Society Women+ in Plasma Physics committee. I am actively involved with University of Alberta Energy Systems Signature Area as a founding member and organizer of the COP Hack: Student Engagement initiative, and a member of the Energy Systems Signature Area Curriculum Committee - check out our series Exploring Energy Systems!

I'm always excited to support student initiatives and have been a faculty mentor for the AlbertaSat student team developing the Iris multispectral imager since 2020. I'm also a member of the Institute of Space Science, Exploration and Technology and an active supporter of Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology at the UofA.

Please feel free to drop me an email if you'd like to talk about research, courses or anything else. I'm always happy to chat!


Research

I conduct research in high-intensity laser-matter interaction, including laser-driven beam and radiation sources, with applications in fundamental physics and industry. My research team collaborates broadly across the UofA, Canada and internationally. My research program is supported by an NSERC Discovery Grant and currently explores the following topics:

The generation and application of femtosecond duration radiation bursts from laser-plasma accelerators.

  • Developing high-repetition rate plasma accelerator beam-lines:
  • Applying laser-driven betatron X-rays for high-resolution imaging of dynamic phenomena

Understanding exotic states of matter generated using high-intensity laser pulses, relevant to fusion energy devices.

The development of laser-based probes for precision agriculture.

Simulations of intense laser-matter interactions using Particle-in-Cell codes.



Teaching

ECE 202 - Electrical Circuits I (Fall 2021)

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Fusion Energy & Plasma Physics Course - Single Particle Motion (June 2021)

ECE 209 - Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering (Winter 2021)

Announcements

Open positions for students and postdoctoral fellows will be listed here.

I am currently recruiting MSc/PhD students to work on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy projects for environmental sensing, starting in Fall 2025 and with the option to convert to a PhD after starting. Please send me a short email expressing your interests in this position, with your CV attached, and using the email title "Graduate studies in LIBS for environmental sensing".

I am not currently recruiting postdoctoral fellows. I recruit undergraduate students to join my group, throughout the year. 

Courses

ECE 475 - Optoelectronic and Photovoltaic Devices

Basic optical properties of crystalline and amorphous semiconductor materials: energy band diagrams, optical constants. Recombination and light emission in semiconductors. Light emitting diodes: spectral characteristics, materials, and applications. Stimulated emission and laser oscillation conditions in semiconductors. Laser diodes: modal and spectral properties, steady state rate equations, materials and structures. Light absorption, optical to electrical energy conversion. Photovoltaic cells: fill factors and efficiency, temperature effects, alternative materials and structures. Prerequisite: ECE 302 or E E 340. Credit may be obtained in only one of ECE 475 or E E 475.


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