News
2012 News Archive
2012 - The year in review
December 31, 2012
What kind of year was 2012 for the Institute of Optics?
Optics students receive many awards
December 1, 2012
At its annual student Holiday party, the department had many reasons to acknowledge some of the outstanding achievements by our Optics students. Here is a probably incomplete list, but definitely worth mentioning:
David Williams receives Antonio Champalimaud Vision Award
September 30, 2012
David Williams, the William G. Allyn Professor of Medical Optics,
professor of optics, professor of brain and cognitive sciences, professor of
ophthalmology, professor of biomedical engineering, and director of the Center
for Visual Science, received the Antonio Champalimaud Vision Award this past September at a ceremony chaired by the president of Portugal in Lisbon.
Duncan Moore receives Hajim School's 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award
September 10, 2012
At the SEAS annual fall gala held September 6 at the Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, Duncan Moore was recognized for his outstanding record of research, teaching, and leadership, with the Hajim School's 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Google Scholar lists 3 books by Optics faculty as the most cited books in Physics
September 5, 2012
The Institute of Optics proudly announced today, that Google Scholar lists three books by faculty members among the 12 most cited books in Physics:
International Conference on Photo-Excited Processes and Applications hosted here at the Institute of Optics
August 8, 2012
Professor Chunlei Guo, of The Institute of Optics, will host the 8th International Conference on Photo-Excited Processes and Applications August 12-17 here on campus. With a 20-year history, ICPEPA is one of the best topical meetings in the field of laser-materials interactions.
5 Optics graduate students receive Horton Fellowships
August 4, 2012
With great pride, The Institute of Optics announced that five of their own graduate students are the recipients of the distinguished Horton Fellowships.
Center for Freeform Optics moving closer to reality
August 1, 2012
The National Science Foundation has awarded UR a Center for Freeform Optics planning grant, in support of a partnership that includes The Institute of Optics, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Pennsylvania State University, as well as a number of industry and government entities and foundations.
Rising Optics graduate student receives NASA travel grant
July 18, 2012
In July 2012, Garrett West, BS in OPE '12 and entering Master student, was just awarded one of the 2012 NASA travel grants named for Nobel Scholar John Mather.
Garret was a summer intern at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland. The award consists in the designation “John Mather Nobel Scholar,” plus a $3000 scientific travel grant over a two year period. The funding for the scholarships originated in a generous contribution from the John and Jane Mather Foundation for Science and the Arts which in turn was funded from the award of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physics to Dr. Mather. For more information and the list of awardees, please click here.
Professor Agrawal wins prestigious 2012 IEEE Photonics Society Quantum Electronics Award
July 4, 2012
The Institute of Optics is very proud to announce that Professor Govind Agrawal is the recipient of the 2012 IEEE Photonics Society Quantum Electronics Award “For sustained contributions to fiber-optic telecommunication technology through innovative research and authorship of numerous widely-respected books in the field.”
2 papers listed in the top 50 most-cited papers in Applied Optics journal
June 10, 2012
In connection with the 50th Anniversary celebration of the journal Applied Optics, the Optical Society of America OSA is highlighting the 50 most cited papers in that journal. Launched in 1962, Applied Optics (AO) has published some of the most important applied research in the field. As one of the oldest applied journals in the industry, AO has paved the way for both OSA journals and non-OSA journals alike.
Graduate student Kathleen Adelsberger receives National Physical Science Consortium fellowship
June 7, 2012
The Institute of Optics is very proud to announce that Kathleen Adelsberger, a PhD candidate working with Professor Zavislan, was awarded a National Physical Science Consortium fellowship to support her research in optical design for wavefront coded imaging systems. As part of her fellowship she will be working at Sandia National Laboratories with Dr. Robert Boye and his research group.
Cristina Canavesi wins two prestigious awards
June 6, 2012
It was just announced that Cristina Canavesi received the 2012 Bill Price and Warren Smith student SPIE award in optical design! The Institute of Optics and her advisor Prof. Jannick Rolland are very proud to call such an outstanding student and researcher our own. Not only did Cristina just win this prestigious design award, but she also participated in a business competition earlier this spring:
Brian Thompson hosts luncheon to honor George Fraley
June 6, 2012
To honor George Fraley, former Director of the Teaching Labs at the Institute of Optics, on his 80th birthday, Prof. Brian Thompson hosted a luncheon in his honor:
Prof. Zhang named the 2012 recipient of the William F. Meggers Award by OSA
May 22, 2012
The new Director of the Institute of Optics, Dr. Xi-Cheng
Zhang continues to make impressive strides in his field. Xi-Cheng was
recently named the 2012 recipient of the William F. Meggers Award by the
Optical Society of America (OSA) for his exceptional contributions to
coherent generation and detection of ultra-broadband THz waves for far-infrared
spectroscopy.
Carlos Stroud serving as division chair for APS/DLS
May 15, 2012
Since November 2011 Carlos Stroud has been serving as the Chair of the Division of Laser Science DLS of the American Physical Society APS. This is just another example of our faculty being highly active and recognized in leadership roles in the optical community.
Optical Society to Honor Joseph Eberly
May 10, 2012
Joseph Eberly, the Andrew Carnegie Professor of Physics and professor of optics, has been named the winner of the Optical Society’s 2012 Distinguished Service Award.
Eberly is being honored for his service as founding editor of the journal Optics Express, his leadership while serving as president, and his commitment in serving the Optical Society. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor!
Provost Emeritus Brian J. Thompson named Engineer of the Year
May 4, 2012
At its 110th annual gala held April 28 at the Rochester Riverside Conference Center, the Rochester Engineering Society named Dr. Thompson 2011’s Engineer of the Year. This title – for which he was one of four esteemed finalists – is now the latest among many he has held over his more than 40-year career.
Prof. Emil Wolf elected Honorary Member of the Romanian Academy of Science and Humanities
May 1, 2012
The director of the Institute, Prof. Xi-Cheng Zhang was just informed that one of the Institute of Optics most distinguished faculty members, Prof. Emil Wolf, was elected an Honorary Member of the Romanian Academy of Science and Humanities.
Jen Kruschwitz named 'Technology Woman of the Year'
April 27, 2012
Jennifer Kruschwitz, adjunct professor at the Institute of Optics, has worked in Rochester since 1992; first at the Laboratory for Laser Energetivs and later at Bausch + Lomb, before starting her own business. She was recognized as Digital Rochester's 2012 Technology Woman of the Year. About 200 people attended the annual awards ceremony held Thursday morning at Locust Hill Country Club.
Miguel Alonso's latest paper is top downloaded OSA publication
March 2, 2012
Professor Miguel Alonso's latest paper "Wigner functions in optics: describing beams as ray bundles and pulses as particle ensembles" was recognized as the top article that was downloaded from the OSA OpticsInfoBase in the category "Subscription Journals" for the month of January 2012. To see the full article, click here (access for UR community only).
Dr. George receives touching accolades from former student Ed English
March 1, 2012
Prof. Nick George, long-time faculty member at the Institute of Optics just received a card with a photo and the poem from one of our gifted students, Edward English, who received his doctorate under the supervision of Prof. George. The poem explains well why our alumni appreciate our exceptional faculty at The Institute of Optics!
James Fienup elected member of National Academy of Engineering
February 17, 2012
Dr. James Fienup , Robert E. Hopkins Professor of Optics, has been eleceted new member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for his development and applications of phase retrieval algorithms.
Duncan Moore authors opinion article in New York Times
February 9, 2012
Duncan Moore, Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Professor in Optical Engineering Science at The Institute of Optics is author of an article in the "Opinion Pages" of the New York Times magazine, published on February 2, 2012.
Julie Bentley named SPIE fellow
February 6, 2012
The Institute of Optics is pleased to announce that Julie Bentley, Professor of Optics was accepted as a SPIE fellow. Julie was recognized for developing new courses in lens design with real-world student projects from the undergraduate through the graduate level. SPIE Fellows are members of distinction who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics, and imaging. They are honored for their technical achievement, for their service to the general optics community, and to SPIE in particular. Congratulations Julie!
New Director assumes role at University's Institute of Optics
January 2, 2012
Internationally Acclaimed Scientist Arrives to Lead Nation's First Optics Education Program