Research in the Laboratory for Nano and Micro Photonics (LaNMP) can be best summarized as exploration of light-matter interaction at the nanosale. We are interested in exploring emergent material properties (classical and quantum) that arise when matter is subjected to artificially engineered electromagnetic environments. The goal is to develop a largely unexplored strategy for realizing programmable matter based on coherently combining material excitations with light – realizing half-light half-matter quasiparticles. We hope to answer fundamental questions related to ultimate limits of controlling light-matter interaction and apply these concepts in applications such as quantum simulators, energy harvesting, ultrafast light emitters, and catalysis.