Luke Hardy

Doctoral Student Integral To Biomedical Optics Research

Doctoral Student, Physics and Optical Science

Luke Hardy, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in optical science and engineering, is an integral member of a research team focused on biomedical optics and laser-tissue interactions, mostly in the therapeutic realm. With the incidence of kidney and bladder stones increasing not only in the Southeast but elsewhere too, due to increasing obesity, diabetes, dietary factors, and even climate change, Hardy and others in Dr. Nathaniel Fried’s research lab in the Department of Physics and Optical Science at UNC Charlotte are working to transform treatment options.

“Luke is a highly accelerated student by all measures,” Fried says. “One of his greatest strengths is that he works extremely hard. He’s very focused and a very serious student. It’s his curiosity, his heart, his work ethic, and his productivity. He’s just done so much. He’s really a role model for other students.” Hardy first joined Fried’s lab as an undergraduate physics student participating in the Charlotte Research Scholars program in the summer of 2013. Since then, he has been a co-author on over a dozen peer-reviewed papers and a similar number of conference proceedings – an unusually large number of papers for a student. Read More