Plasmonics of composite materials: new avenues of light management at the nanoscale Viktor A. Podolskiy, 301 Weniger Hall, Department of Physics, Oregon State University, Corvallis OR 97331 Our goal is to develop a fundamental understanding of interaction of light with nanostructured metal-dielectric composites, where nm-sized elements play the role of artificial atoms, and the structure behaves as a meta-material with previously unachievable optical properties for better imaging, sensing, and chemical detection systems. We have: Negative refraction and imaging in plasmonic nanolayers 1. - derived the analytical description of resolution of one of the most anticipated applications of negative index media - planar lens, also known as superlens – and unambiguously connected its sub-wavelength resolution with resonant excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). 2. - demonstrated complete compensation of losses in plasmonic structures, signified by the stimulated emission of SPPs. Compensating loss of SPPs 3. - developed a set of numerical codes for adequate simulation of scattering in isotropic plasmonic circuits, and used these codes to derive analytical expression for reflection, refraction, and scattering of SPPs in low-scattering regime. Our next step is to finalize the set of ongoing projects on nanopartcile-assisted lasing and scattering by the anisotropic resonators. loss gain