Current Projects


Current projects are both theoretical and experimental and include:

  • Investigation of motile behavior of a selection of test organisms, including responses to chemical, electromagnetic, and photonic stimuli:
    • E. coli
    • B. subtilis
    • V. alginolyticus
    • Colwellia psychrerythraea

  • The "Common Mode" digital holographic microscope (DHM) integrated with fluorescence lightfield ("ELVIS")

  • Superresolution and multiwavlength DHM

  • Integrating DHM with autonomous vehicles for robotic space exploration

  • Development of mathematical models for fitting holograms of living cells

  • Development of tools for recognition and tracking of reconstructed holograms

  • Label-free fluorescence techniques for life detection

  • Encapsulation of bacteria for probiotics


    • Deployment in Greenland

    The image to the right is of a field deployment to Nuuk, Greenland in March 2015.
    All about our field trip to Nuuk

    Other Field Sites

    Death Valley and Ash Meadows

    The Cedars

    Barrow, Alaska

    Newport Beach. The combined DHM/fluorescence instrument, ELVIS, was deployed at Newport Beach in Summer 2019. Details of the instrument and results were published in Microscopy Today here.

    Mt. St. Helens. The second-generation portable DHM ("Little Shamie") was deployed in the Mt. St. Helens crater in Fall 2020. Here are some pictures. Results to come!





    Contact Information

    Department of Physics          
    Portland State University        
    Portland, OR 97201          
    Telephone: (503) 795-8929
    Email: nadeau@pdx.edu

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