Optica mourns the passing of these distinguished colleagues.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Wilson Sibbett, Optica Fellow and recipient of the Charles Hard Townes Medal, has passed away at the age of 76. He was known for his work on ultrashort pulse laser science and technology. Sibbett's work on streak cameras was the first to demonstrate the technique of subpicosecond chronoscropy, achieved by synchronouse scanning of streak cameras such that they function as oscilloscopes.
Monday, September 2, 2024
H. Jeff Kimble, Optica Fellow and pioneer in quantum optics and quantum information science, passed away on 2 September 2024. He was the William L. Valentine Professor of Physics, Emeritus, at Caltech, USA. Kimble's career comprised a veritable parade of foundational discoveries and observations in quantum optics. The discoveries include photon antibunching, generation of squeezed states of
Thursday, May 9, 2024
Optica Fellow Robert Lee Armstrong has passed away. He was best known for his research in optics, lasers and masers, radiofrequency wave propagation, carbon dioxide, absorption spectra, infrared spectra, and pressure effects.From 1978 to 1981, Armstrong conducted research in the Physics Department of New Mexico State University on a High Resolution Atmospheric Transmittance Study funded by a grant
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Murty V. Mantravadi, Optica Fellow and educator, passed away on 24 April 2024 at the age of 94. He was most known for his research in optical testing, interferometry, diffraction, spectrometers, and optical devices. Most notably, he originated the shear plate testing method that would check for light wave distortion and make parallel or align the light rays of a laser beam.Mantravadi was born in
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Bruce Wessels, Optica Fellow, Senior Member and Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University, passed away on 7 April 2024 at the age of 77. He was best known for his work studying thin films and nanostructures for electronic, magnetic, and photonic materials applications.Wessels grew up in Glen Cove, New York, and graduated from Glen Cove High School in 1964. Early on, he became interested in
Joseph Izatt, Optica Fellow, Edwin H. Land Medal recipient, and long-time Optica volunteer, passed away on 7 April 2024. Izatt was the Michael J. Fitzpatrick Professor of Engineering and chair of Duke’s Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME), Duke University, USA. Izatt was a volunteer leader who helped shape and strengthen Optica’s conferences, publications, and overall
Monday, March 25, 2024
Richard R. Freeman, Optica Fellow and volunteer, passed away on 25 March 2024 at the age of 79. He was best known for his work on ultrafast VUV sources and lasers, lithography, and the “Freeman resonance” of ultrafast laser physics.Freeman was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, but grew up in Seattle, Washington, where he attended the University of Washington. He graduated Summa Cum Laude
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Robert N. Compton, Optica Fellow and William F. Meggers Award recipient, passed away on 27 February 2024 at the age of 85. He was known for his research in atomic and molecular physics, particularly in nonlinear laser spectroscopy and the physics of negative ions.Born in Metropolis, Illinois, on 28 November 1938, his early fascination with science led him to take apart a radio to understand
Friday, February 23, 2024
Dr. Michael Kajeton Barnoski passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family on February 23, 2024 in Newport Beach, California. He was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on August 19, 1940, and spent his formative years in Elmira, New York. He attended University of Dayton where he received his BS in Electrical Engineering and received his Master’s and PhD Degrees in
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Andrew Weiner, Optica Fellow, former Editor in Chief of Optics Express, and recipient of the RW Wood Prize passed away on 13 February 2024 at the age of 65. He was an active volunteer for Optica and the optics and photonics community, having served in leadership roles in publications, conferences, and governance. Weiner was most known for his work in ultrafast optics, high-speed fiber
