His research focuses on electromagnetic fields in complex materials, such as sculptured thin films, chiral materials,[1] bianisotropy[2] and industrially scalable bioreplication,[3] an emerging form of engineered biomimicry applied to harvesting of solar energy and pest eradication.
He obtained a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electronics Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi in 1979; Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Utah,[6] Salt Lake City, USA in 1981 and 1983, respectively.
In 1983, Lakhtakia joined the faculty of the Pennsylvania State University, where he was elevated to the rank of Distinguished Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics in January 2004.
He served as an international lecturer for the International Commission for Optics and the Optical Society of America; was twice a visiting professor of physics at Universidad de Buenos Aires, a visiting professor of physics at the University of Otago, a visiting fellow in mathematics at the University of Glasgow, and a visiting professor of physics at Imperial College London from 2004 to 2007; headed the IEEE EMC Technical Committee on Nonsinusoidal Fields from 1992 to 1994; and is a Fellow of Optical Society of America, SPIE, American Physical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Institute of Physics (UK), the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), and the Royal Society of Arts (UK).
[citation needed] His current research interests lie in the electromagnetics of complex materials, sculptured thin films, carbon nanotubes, nanoengineered metamaterials, biomimetics (especially bioreplication), forensic science, and negative refraction.