Craig Arnold

Craig B. Arnold serves as vice dean for innovation at Princeton University, leading the Office of Innovation, strengthening partnerships with entrepreneurs, alumni, industry, and investors. He collaborates across campus and with key offices, including technology licensing, corporate engagement, and the Princeton Entrepreneurship Council.

Arnold is the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and was the director of the Princeton Materials Institute from 2015 through 2022. His research spans advanced manufacturing, energy storage, and optics, resulting in 17 patents and over 225 publications. He co-founded three companies, including TAG Optics, which developed the award-winning TAG lens now widely used in industrial and research applications.

Arnold has received numerous honors, including the Edison Patent Award, the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) Prism Award, and R&D 100 Award. He is a fellow of SPIE and the Optical Society of America. A dedicated educator, Arnold has earned multiple teaching awards and mentored numerous students. He earned his doctorate in experimental condensed matter physics from Harvard University and joined Princeton’s faculty in 2003 after postdoctoral research at the Naval Research Laboratory. 

Research in the Arnold group primarily focuses on laser processing and transport in materials with particular emphasis on shaping laser-material interactions. We strive to develop a deep understanding of the fundamental materials and optical physics to directly impact applications at the frontiers of technology in fields ranging from energy to biology and imaging to nanoscience. 

_{Principal Research Efforts include:}

• _{TAG lens adaptive optics for imaging and materials processing}

• _{Bessel beam optical trap assisted near field laser direct-write nanopatterning}

• _{Fundamentals of laser forward transfer and "On-the-fly" materials modification}

• _{Photo-modifiable materials and processing for mid-infrared photonics}

• _{Relations between mechanical properties and electrochemical performance in energy storage applications}

• _{Laser surface texturing for biological surfaces}