Spotlight date | February 21, 2025

Illuminating a path to discovery

Many important things in life rely on optics (the study of light and how it interacts with matter).

Whether you wear glasses, have an MRI, connect to fiber-optic internet or use a security system, chances are you’ve experienced the benefits of optics.

Through his studies at Missouri State University, Heath Gemar found his calling in optics while combining his plethora of scientific interests.

“Growing up, I was always pretty good at math, and so I was always interested in harder and harder problems,” he said.

Taking his talents a step further, Gemar decided to dual major in applied mathematics and physics at Missouri State.

“You find out that the language of math can describe how things are operating and how [math and physics] interact with one another, then that becomes more intriguing,” Gemar said. “So then, you just start digging more and more into both math and physics, because they kind of coalesce with one another.”

Gemar chose to pursue his undergraduate degrees at Missouri State because he could easily commute from his classes in Springfield to his job in Branson.

Building his research experience, Gemar would often assist graduate students while working in pulsed laser deposition, a method that uses a laser to produce a fluid which is then deposited on another substrate (or substance).

He extends his gratitude to his undergraduate advisor, Dr. Kartik Ghosh, for providing these hands-on learning opportunities.

Amping up his scientific mastery

Upon graduating with his two majors in 2013, Gemar decided to continue his education at Missouri State by getting his master’s degree in materials science.

“Seeing the utility of materials science and how it’s so multidisciplinary and can be applied to a multitude of problems really made it intriguing."

Diving into graduate research, Gemar studied exoplanets and how their atmospheres would evolve due to certain content or temperature constraints.

He also explored how light scatters through an atmosphere (or material) and what that looks like spectrally.

“So, if we were to examine spectra from an actual exoplanet, we might be able to correlate the two and say, ‘Oh, it’s maybe in this kind of temperature range or it’s in this step of evolution,’” he said.

Gemar’s graduate advisor, Dr. David Cornelison (or Dr. C, as he is known to students), was a big influence on Gemar’s decision to stay at Missouri State. Because of Cornelison’s mentorship, Gemar felt supported in his academics and had a clearer vision of his career path.

With the help of Cornelison and a fellow student, Gemar enjoyed growing and promoting the Society of Physics Students at MSU.

“I think we started to build a really good community of people, always going to the library together to study on things and doing the community outreach through Dr. C,” Gemar said.

Lighting the way into a bright future

In 2016, Gemar earned his master’s degree from Missouri State.

Afterward, he graduated from the University of Central Florida with his PhD in optics and photonics.

Gemar currently works as an optical physicist at a naval research lab in Washington D.C., where he develops novel imaging techniques for the U.S. Navy.

“Imaging is seeing with your eyes, but you can also see a thermal signature, which is like the infrared kind of cameras that you may see, where you have really bright spots and then dark spots based off somebody’s body heat or something,” Gemar said.

In his work, he also uses sensing to explore spectral signatures, the reflection from an object seen through many wavelengths.

Gemar hopes to continue advancing his research and making important discoveries for his field.

“I’d probably say my current goal is to continue to get more programs funded that we’re working on here at the lab and just to continue to push the boundary forward in everything that we’re doing,” he said.