November 2005 Issue
Feature Articles
Polymer-Dispersion Technologies for Flexible Liquid Crystal Displays
Researchers are using ferroelectric liquid crystals and micro-polymers to develop thin, flexible, large-screen displays with the ability to supply moving images.
by Hideo Fujikake, Hiroto Sato and Takeshi MurashigeLaser Diagnostics in Combustion Research: Some Recent Advances
Research into controlled combustion can address modern problems in emissions and noise control, energy efficiency, fire extinction and waste management. Laser diagnostics are helping take this field to the next level.
by Mark Linne and James GordFiber-Optic Sensors: Applications and Advances
Decades of research into fiber-optic sensing are now being translated into safe, precise measuring instruments—including gyroscopes, temperature probes, hydrophones and chemical monitors.
by Brian CulshawThe Digital Blue Sky at Night
Rayleigh-scattered moonlight creates a blue sky at night. Our eyes are not sensitive enough to capture the color, but a digital camera can.
by Joseph A. ShawDepartments and Columns
Unpacking my "Optics Suitcase" in Africa
An optics Ph.D. student and her husband recently led a group of University of Rochester students to Malawi, Africa, for a three- week cross-cultural enrichment trip.
George Eastman Founds a Research Lab
Known as the father of popular photography, George Eastman was also a shrewd businessman who found a way to "institutionalize innovation" by creating a corporate research laboratory at Kodak.
At the Crossroads of Science, Religion and Politics
The unusual career of U.S. Rep. Vernon Ehlers, Ph.D.
Teachable Optics
Absorption, scattering and the color of the ocean.
![An artist’s rendering of a pulse of circularly polarized light hitting a 2D semiconductor. [Illustration by S. Alvey / University of Michigan]](https://opnmedia.blob.core.windows.net/$web/opn/media/images/articles/2025/0125/departments/202501-cover-web.jpg?ext=.jpg)
