September 2012 Issue
Feature Articles
CREOL at 25: A Full Spectrum of Achievements
A quarter-century ago, the Florida legislature funded an optics center to diversify the economy of the state’s central region. Today, it has grown into a full-fledged photonics college known for world-class research.
by Patricia DaukantasFreeform Optical Surfaces: Report from OSA’s First Incubator Meeting
Just as business incubator programs are designed to support the development of fledgling companies, OSA’s new incubator meeting series is structured to encourage the growth of exciting new areas within optics. The first one was devoted to the topic of freeform optics—a field that is actively evolving due to recent technological advances.
by Kevin P. Thompson, Pablo Benítez and Jannick P. RollandAden Meinel: Astronomer, Optical Scientist, Founder and Scholar
Aden Meinel was the founding director of the University of Arizona Optical Sciences Center and the Kitt Peak National Observatory. With his wife and research partner, Marjorie, he also developed next-generation space-telescope concepts and pioneered the use of solar energy.
by Kristin WallerDepartments and Columns
Tabletop Supercontinuum X-Ray Source
An international team of scientists has developed a tabletop device that produces coherent bursts of shortwavelength radiation.
Quantum Computing Closer to Practical
In a development that brings practical quantum computers closer to reality, a team of researchers demonstrated that they could create heralded single photons from a CMOS-compatible silicon chip operating at room temperature in the near-infrared.
Graduate-Level Internships in Industry
Industry internships can give graduate students a valuable learning experience that is quite different from their work in academia.
Graphene Used to Make Sensitive Photon Detector
Researchers have developed a bolometer using bilayer graphene with a bandgap tuned by electric fields.
Making an RGB Laser from Quantum Dots
Researchers at Brown University (U.S.A.) create a single-material laser that provides red, green or blue laser light.
Opportunities and Trends in Optoelectronic Manufacturing
A recent workshop organized by the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (OIDA) highlighted key challenges and opportunities facing photonics manufacturers today.
Reflecting on Career/Life Balance
As our lifestyles become more complex, all of us—whether men or women—must develop strategies to balance our career with our personal lives.
Nanotubes Soak Up the Near-Infrared Sun
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (U.S.A.) have devised an all-carbon, near-infrared photovoltaic cell filled with single-walled nanotubes.
Filtering Wavefront Maps Improves Uncertainty Estimates
Wavefront maps typically contain both relevant and non-relevant information. Removing the extraneous data helps engineers to estimate uncertainties more accurately.
Optics Research in the Russian Suburbs
Russia is known as a global leader in optics research. What’s surprising is the amount of cutting-edge research being conducted outside major city centers. Sergey Chekalin refl ects on the history of optics in Russia and describes his experience working on new optics technologies at Troitsk’s Institute of Spectroscopy
OPN Talks with David Williams
Our conversation with David Williams, medical optics leader and FiO keynote speaker.
What Can a Student Chapter Accomplish in Five Years? A lot!
On the fifth anniversary of the CIOp-UNLP OSA/SPIE student chapter, a founding member looks back on its accomplishments and encourages others to start a chapter at their own university.
A Formula for Success
Scientists often struggle with how to improve diversity in their field, in part because the problem seems overwhelmingly complex and multi-faceted. Here we attempt to lead women, minorities and others toward success using the tool that many physicists love best: the equation.
OPN Talks with Marlan O. Scully
Our conversation with Marlan O. Scully, "Quantum Cowboy" and Frederic Ives Medal/Jarus W. Quinn Prize recipient.
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Also in this Issue
In Memory
Remembering Andrei Brunfeld and OSA Fellow Emeritus Terrill A. Cool.
President's Message
It is my honor and pleasure as President to have the chance to meet OSA members all around the world.
