Rate My Professor Mallika Suresh

Dr. Mallika Suresh is an Agnes Blackie Research Fellow and post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Physics, Sciences Division, at the University of Otago, where she joined in 2021. She is a member of the Resonant Optics research group led by Professor Harald G. L. Schwefel and an Associate Investigator at the Te Whai Ao – Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies. Suresh obtained her PhD in 2021 from the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, under the supervision of Professor Philip Russell, with research focused on nonlinear optical effects in gas-filled photonic crystal fibres using femtosecond pulses. Her academic background equips her to advance research at the intersection of optics and photonics.

Suresh's research specializations include nonlinear optics, optical microresonators, microwave and terahertz photonics, and femtosecond laser micromachining for fabricating advanced photonic devices. Since her arrival at Otago, she has worked on nonlinear optical upconversion in high-quality optical microresonators and is currently developing a photonic radiometer for detecting atmospheric ozone by converting faint microwave emissions into the optical domain. Career highlights encompass the Agnes Blackie Research Fellowship awarded in 2023 by the Dodd-Walls Centre to support her independent research and public outreach initiatives, including explaining complex concepts to children and the public. In 2024, she secured a Catalyst:Seeding grant of $80,000 from the Royal Society Te Apārangi for novel terahertz antennas aimed at next-generation photonic radiometers. She also participated in a team effort with Professor Harald Schwefel and Associate Professor Annika Seppala that obtained $10.5 million in funding in 2025. Key publications include "Multichannel upconversion of terahertz radiation in an optical disk resonator" (Optics Express, 2025), "Gallium arsenide whispering gallery mode resonators for terahertz photonics" (Optics Express, 2023), "Deep-UV-enhanced supercontinuum generated in a tapered gas-filled photonic crystal fiber" (Optics Letters, 2021), "An integrated millimeter-wave satellite radiometer working at room-temperature with high photon conversion efficiency" (Sensors, 2022), "Pump-probe study of plasma dynamics in gas-filled photonic crystal fiber using counterpropagating solitons" (Physical Review Applied, 2019), and "Spatio-temporal measurement of ionization-induced modal index changes in gas-filled PCF by prism-assisted side-coupling" (Optics Express, 2019). Several of her papers have garnered recognition, including selection as Editor's Pick in Optics Express.