US patent office issues its 10 millionth patent to Rochester alumnus
Joseph Marron ’86, an alumnus of the Institute of Optics, has more than 20 patents to his credit. But his latest, for a new way to obtain real-time readings from large laser radars, has special significance.
Tackling the 12 ‘Herculean tasks’ of quantum optics
Optical physics and quantum optics will have a profound effect on our daily lives in the decades to come, and two Rochester faculty are among the authors of a new survey of the biggest scientific challenges and questions in the field.
Emil Wolf, pioneer of optical physics, remembered
Wolf served on the Rochester faculty for more than 50 years and was a leading expert in coherence and polarization of optical fields. His Principles of Optics is the most cited textbook in physics.
‘High-risk’ research receives University seed funding
University Research Awards for 2018-19 have been awarded to 15 projects ranging from an analysis of the roles of prisons in the Rochester region, to a new approach to genome editing, to new initiatives for advanced materials for powerful lasers.
New method eliminates guesswork when lenses go freeform
Lenses and mirrors with freeform rather than symmetric can lead to optical devices that are more effective than ever before. A new design method would eliminate the expensive trail-and-error needed to work with freeform optics.
A laser focus on super water-repellent metals
Rochester researchers have been using lasers to change the properties of metals in incredible ways. But to make the technology commercially viable, a partnership between scholars and business will focus on making the lasers much more powerful.
Former Institute of Optics director Kenneth Teegarden dies
Teegarden joined the Institute of Optics in 1954 and served as its director from 1981 until 1987. He was also the first director of the University’s Materials Science program, and led the New York State Center for Advanced Optical Technology.
Rochester team casts light on a hidden problem in domestic violence cases
While existing technology for detecting bruises works well for light-skinned victims, it’s less effective for people of color. An interdisciplinary team at the University of Rochester has set out to change that.
Creating negative mass particles—and a novel way to generate lasers
Rochester researchers have created particles with negative mass in an atomically thin semiconductor, using a device that creates an optical microcavity.
Humboldt Research Awards support professors’ collaborations in Germany
Two University faculty members—William Jones of the Department of Chemistry and Xi-Cheng Zhang of the Institute of Optics—have received prestigious Humboldt Research Awards.