Ping Yu’s research combines optics, laser physics, optoelectronics, and biomedical optical imaging. He has spent his career exploring basic physical processes in optics and optical imaging and applying acquired knowledge to the development of novel materials, devices, and biomedical imaging systems. His laboratory has major equipment and facilities to support nonlinear optical research. The research contributions for which he is best known are: (1) first ever room temperature stimulated emission, lasing and gain mechanism of ZnO epitaxial thin films and microstructures, (2) contribution to understanding electronic states of vertically coupled semiconductor quantum dots, and (3) innovation in holographic optical coherence imaging. The holographic coherence domain imaging research has been funded by the National Science Foundation Career Award.