Tsu-Te Judith (Judy) Su is an American researcher in biophotonics, including the use of microtoroid optical resonators in biosensors and single-molecule biochemical sensors. She is a Craig M. Berge Faculty Fellow, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, and an associate professor in the Wyant College of Optical Sciences of the University of Arizona.

Education and career

Su received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, with a minor in literature, and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 2002 and 2004 respectively. She completed a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biophysics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2014. Her dissertation, Label-Free Detection of Single Biological Molecules Using Microtoroid Optical Resonators, was supervised by Douglas C. Rees; she also describes Carver Mead as a mentor and inspiration.

Until 2017, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher both at Caltech and the University of Arizona. She became a regular-rank assistant professor at the University of Arizona in 2017, and was promoted to associate professor in 2023. She was named as a Craig M. Berge Faculty Fellow in 2024.

Recognition

Su was the 2019 recipient of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery's Dr. Horace Furumoto Innovations Professional Young Investigator Award. The ASME named her as a Rising Star of Mechanical Engineering in 2024.

Su was elected as a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors in 2022, and named as a Fellow of SPIE, in the 2025 class of fellows. She was named as a 2026 Fellow of Optica, "for pioneering work on label-free optical biosensing for fundamental science, translational medicine, and environmental monitoring".

Personal life

Su is one of four children of mechanical engineering professor Tsung-Chow (Joe) Su of Florida Atlantic University and mathematics education professor Hui Fang Huang (Angie) Su of Nova Southeastern University.

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