Optical society honors Professor Wolf

Wolf

mil Wolf, Wilson Professor of Optical Physics, has been selected by the Optical Society of America (OSA) to receive the 2002 Esther Hoffman Beller Medal. The international award is presented for exceptional contributions to optical science and engineering education, especially outstanding teaching and original work in education that enhances the understanding of optics. The award will be presented at the annual meeting of the OSA in Orlando, Fla., on September 29.

Wolf is being honored "for numerous outstanding contributions as an educator, but especially for the influence of his books, which have been educating optical scientists and engineers for more than 40 years," according to OSA's citation.

Wolf, who coauthored Principles of Optics and Optical Coherence and Quantum Optics, has received many awards including seven honorary degrees and served as president of the OSA in 1978. He has published more than 300 research papers, many of which have provided the foundation for the modern theory of optical coherence. His early work involving the structure of focal region of an electromagnetic field is still a standard reference.

In 1959, Wolf joined the faculty of the University and founded a school of optics that has been shaping the graduate education of optical scientists for four decades. His guidance has led two generations of graduates through groundbreaking research and inspired many to build distinguished careers of their own in education and research.

"Virtually everyone who has studied optics in the last several decades has been influenced by Wolf," says Arie Bodek, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

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