In this talk I will present our recent work on utilizing non-Hermitian engineering in order to tailor nonlinear optical responses. I will describe how the interplay between different nonlinear processes, gain and/or loss can lead to several novel effects having potential practical applications. In particular, I will discuss three relevant topics: single mode supersymmetric laser arrays, loss-enabled unidirectional frequency conversion in optical wave-mixing setups, and synthetic saturable absorbers in bosonic nonlinear waveguide arrays.

Bio: Ramy El-Ganainy received his PhD, in 2009, from the College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL), University of Central Florida. After a postdoctoral period at the University of Toronto and Max Planck Institute for the physics of complex systems, he joined the Department of Physics at Michigan Technological University (MTU) as an assistant professor where he is also affiliated with the Henes Center for Quantum Phenomena. His research work focuses on investigating different aspects of complex light wave dynamics.