Halleh B. Balch

Halleh B. Balch is Assistant Professor of Oceans and, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, and an HHMI Hanna H Gray Faculty Fellow. 

Balch is an experimental physicist whose research combines optical physics, biochemical control, and materials engineering to develop next-generation optical sensors that advance our understanding of oceanography, water security, and climate resilience. Her research investigates new approaches to control light-matter interactions at the nanoscale for integrated nanophotonic, spectroscopic, and imaging technologies. She collaborates with oceanographic research stations to develop these platforms for deployment onboard underwater vehicles and moorings. Her current work focuses on quantitative measurements of molecular and microbial targets — from climate-relevant gases and aquatic contaminants to DNA and signaling compounds — under changing climate conditions. Balch received the NSF Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship, the HHMI Hanna H Gray Fellowship, her PhD in Physics from University of California Berkeley, and her undergraduate degree in Physics and Literature from Swarthmore College.