Antennas are at the heart of modern radio and microwave frequency communications technologies. Because of their efficient coupling to light propagating in free space, antennas form the basis for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic radiation. Using metallic nanostructures, researchers have extended antenna concepts to the optical frequency domain and realized many advancements in nanophotonics [1]. However, recent research has begun to exploit the scattering resonances of high-permittivity particles to realize all-dielectric optical antennas. In this talk, we experimentally and theoretically characterize the resonant modes of subwavelength rod-shaped dielectric particles using Mie theory and infrared spectroscopy. We derive and verify a variety of general analytical results [2] applicable to all dielectric antenna systems and demonstrate novel antenna-based light emitters (transmitters) and photodetectors (receivers) [3,4]. External to the particle surface, the electromagnetic fields are indistinguishable from that of a point source and these structures can be thought of as artificial electromagnetic “atoms." Unlike real atoms, which resonate like electric dipoles only, dielectric antennas can be engineered to resonate in higher order modes. We discuss the distinct electromagnetic field profile for the observed antenna resonances and demonstrate that antennas can be arranged into a particle array to form an artificial electromagnetic material with a negative index of refraction [5]. Finally, we discuss how the concepts presented here may be extended to impact a variety of visible and infrared frequency photonic technologies.