OSA Podblog

OPN Podcast 2: Metamaterials: The Next Photonics Revolution

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:43:00 GMT

Phil Saunders of SpaceChannel.org and Nikolay Zheludev of the University of Southampton, U.K., have graciously permitted OPN to reproduce this fascinating video, which is related to Zheludevâs October OPN feature on metamaterial-induced transparency . It explores the science behind metamaterialsâcrystalline-like sub-wavelength arrangements of electromagnetic resonators that can exhibit exotic optical properties such as negative refraction and cloaking. With a focus on work being conducted at the University of Southampton, the video describes how metamaterials may usher in the next global technological paradigm shiftâthe photonics revolution. By controlling light with light, scientists can use metamaterials to transform defense, security and global information networks in ways that previously seemed unimaginable. Video by SpaceChannel.org

OPN Home Page: www.osa-opn.org

Links: October cover story: Metamaterial-Induced Transparency

Exclusive interview: 2009 Nobel Laureate in Physics George E. Smith with OSA President Tom Baer

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:18:00 GMT

OSA thrilled to conduct an interview with George E. Smith, the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics, just two days after he learned that he won the Nobel Prize for his work on the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit â the CCD sensor. Take a listen to Tomâs exclusive interview with George on where he was when he heard, what it was like to win the Nobel Prize and the milestone work that lead to it.

OPN Podcast 1: Optics & Ethics

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:13:00 GMT

This is the first of a series of podcasts about articles in Optics & Photonics News, the monthly magazine of the Optical Society. In this monthâs podcast, OPN Managing Editor Christina Folz talks with OPN Senior Writer/Editor Patricia Daukantas about how to choose an ethical career in the field of optics. She also discusses the ethics of scientific publishing with OSA Fellow Anthony Campillo. Tony is OSAâs Senior Director of Science Policy, and he also heads the Societyâs ethics review panel.

OPN Home Page: www.osa-opn.org

Links: OPN September cover story on how to choose an optical career

OPN Talks with Quantum Computing Expert William Phillips

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:31:00 GMT

In 1997, OSA Honorary Member William Phillips was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physicsâalong with his colleagues Steven Chu and Claude Cohen-Tannoudjiâfor developing a method for using laser light to chill gases to within a few millionths of a degree of absolute zero. Phillips is currently building on his laser-cooling work to investigate new possibilities for computing using quantum mechanical phenomena. He leads a research group on quantum computing at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. In this exclusive OPN Podcast, OPN Managing Editor Christina Folz catches up with Phillips about his Nobel-winning work, what's he"s been up to lately, and whatâs next for the exciting field of quantum computing.

OPN Home Page: www.osa-opn.org

About William Phillips: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1997/phillips-autobio.html

Professor Steven Vogt and the Discovery of ExoPlanets

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:46:00 GMT

At the OSA 2009 Winter Leadership meeting held in Washington, DC in February, Professor Steven Vogt from the University of California presented a unique plenary talk describing the characteristics of some of the 250 planets that have already been discovered using ground-based telescopes and precise optical metrology. His presentation included images created by an artist hired to capture the atmosphere of those planets based on the scientific information collected. They use a marriage of scientific data and visualization to capture all of the brain, both logical and creative.

Direct download

PDF Presentation

OPN Talks with Laser Scientists Bloembergen and Boyd

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:33:00 GMT

OSA Honorary Member Nicolaas Bloembergen shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics for his significant contributions to laser spectroscopy and nonlinear optics. OPN writer Patricia Daukantas conducted exclusive interviews with Bloembergen and with OSA Fellow Robert Boyd, who co-organized a symposium celebrating 50 years of laser theory at Frontiers in Optics (FiO), the Society's 92^nd Annual Meeting in Rochester, N.Y., U.S.A.

Listen to this podcast now

OPN"s home page:
http://www.osa-opn.org

Nicolaas Bloembergen:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1981/index.html
http://www.optics.arizona.edu/faculty/Resumes/Bloembergen.htm

Robert Boyd:
http://www.optics.rochester.edu/workgroups/boyd/nonlinear.html
http://www.optics.rochester.edu/workgroups/boyd/nonlinear.html

OPN Interviews Charles Hard Townes

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:21:00 GMT

At the Frontiers in Optics conference in October 2008, OSA marked the 50^th anniversary of the classic paper on laser theory by Arthur L. Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes. OPN writer Patricia Daukantas conducted an exclusive interview with the 93-year-old Townes, a Nobel laureate and OSA Honorary Member, about his groundbreaking research.

OPN's home page:
http://www.osa-opn.org

The Schawlow-Townes paper ("Infrared and Optical Masers,â Phys. Rev. 112, 1940 [1958]):
http://prola.aps.org/abstract/PR/v112/i6/p1940_1

International Student Chapters Meeting in Wroclaw, Poland in May 2008

Wed, 5 Nov 2008 20:44:00 GMT

This podcast features a traveling lecturerâs presentation to the Wroclaw, Poland Chapter in May 2008. The speaker, Dr. Hernando Garcia, was part of the International Student Chapters Meeting hosted by OSAâs Wroclaw Chapter.

Dr. Hernando Garcia speaks regularly on the topics of ultrafast optics and optoelectronics. If you would like more information about OSAâs Student Chapters, Traveling Lecturer Program, or other OSA multimedia talks and sessions; please email KiKi LâItalien at chaptersandsections@osa.org and thanks for supporting our podcast!

Liquid Crystal Mood Patches: Presentation & Hands-On Experience

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:30:00 GMT

Stephen Jacobs
Affiliation: University of Rochester, USA
Title: Liquid Crystal Mood Patches: Presentation & Hands-On Experience
Date: 8/6/2008
Time: 1:20 - 2:00 pm
Location: Boulder, CO

Click here to view presentation

Session Presider Advice

KiKi L'Italien — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:29:00 GMT

This short podcast about âHow to Preside at an OSA Conference Sessionâ by Dr. Ben Eggleton offers advice about the basic principles in leading sessions.

For notes from this podcast and more advice, email KiKi LâItalien at klital@osa.org.

View tips for session chairs from this presentation (PDF)

Dr. Eric Van Stryland on Non-Linear Optics at the OSA UC Irvine Student Chapter

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:27:00 GMT

On May 9, 2008, Dr. Eric Van Stryland spoke to the OSA University of California, Irvine Student Chapter about non-linear optics as part of the OSA Traveling Lecturer Program.

For the uninitiated, Wikipedia says nonlinear optics (NLO) is the branch of optics that describes the behavior of light in nonlinear media, that is, media in which the dielectric polarization P responds nonlinearly to the electric field E of the light. This nonlinearity is typically only observed at very high light intensities such as those provided by pulsed lasers.

We hope you enjoy Ericâs presentation. If you would like more information about OSAâs Student Chapters, Traveling Lecturer Program, or nonlinear optics talks and sessions; please email KiKi LâItalien at chaptersandsections@osa.org.

Enhancing Your Career in Optics

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:12:00 GMT

Do you know how to use your membership in a professional society to its full benefit? Do you sometimes wonder what direction your life will take once you have decided to go into industry or academia? When you are looking at the long lists of publications that other people have accumulated, do you ponder your ability to achieve a publications list as prolific? In May 2008 at the CLEO/QELS conference in San Jose, California, four well-known OSA members gathered together to talk about these topics and to share tips from their own lives to benefit the young professionals who are now where they once were.

Career Podcast Part 1
Career Podcast Part 2

Optical Technology Contributions to Disease Identification, Detection, Diagnosis and Treatment

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:37:00 GMT

Optical technologies have made major contributions to disease identification, detection, diagnosis and treatment. Scientists and engineers in optics and photonics have been important contributors to these developments and are looking to contribute to future advances in the next generation of bio-optical technology. Dr. Jaffeâs talk provides perspective on the places in which advanced imagery and collaborative data sharing technology promise to provide superior results, where advances are needed to make more powerful tools, and where technology is lacking.

View slides from this presentation (PDF)

Where the Girls Are

klital@osa.org — Tue, 9 Oct 2007 18:20:00 GMT

The Minorities & Women in OSA (MWOSA) Breakfast at the 2007 Frontiers in Optics (FiO) conference in San Jose, CA featured Kate Pickle, STEM Project Manager for the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). Listen to this inspiring talk emphasizing the role optics professionals can have in encouraging girls to excel in science and math studies. For more information about MWOSA, please contact KiKi L'Italien at klital@osa.org.

Pushing the Boundaries - Girls in Physics

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:53:00 GMT

Statistics have historically shown girls to be less interested and involved in the sciences than boys. While the reasons for this disparity are still hotly debated, there are people and organizations who are taking strides in changing the demographic landscape of the sciences. Hear from the recent attendees of an optics-based workshop presented to girls in conjunction with the National Coalition of Girls Schools (NCGS) and from one of the organizationâs Executive Directors Meg Milne Moulton. This and other news about pushing the boundaries of science from the 2007 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference (CLEO) Press Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Title: Minorities and Women in Optics - Latest Findings

Mon, 21 May 2007 13:51:00 GMT

Listen in on this recording of OSA's recent "Minorities and Women in Physics" luncheon that was held at the Baltimore Convention Center featuring a presentation by Dr. Rachel Ivie, Research Manager with the Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics.

The luncheon was part of OSA's ongoing Minorities and Women in OSA program. For more information about MWOSA, please visit the OSA.org website under membership. You can also look at Rachel's PowerPoint presentation.

Broadband Explosion: How Optics Will Handle the Demand.

Mon, 9 Apr 2007 15:56:00 GMT

Hear some of the industry's top experts discuss the current broadband explosion and how optics will handle the demand. [This session was recorded LIVE at the OFC/NFOEC Conference in Anaheim, CA in March 2007.]

Speakers include:

Dana Cooperson, VP Network Infrastructure, Ovum-RHK, USA
Tony Bates, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Service Provider Routing Technology Group, Cisco Systems, USA
Shoichi Hanatani, President, Asia-Pacific FTTH Council, Japan
Vik Saxena, Ph.D., Senior Director, Network Engineering, Corporate CTO Office, Comcast Cable, USA

Mark A. Wegleitner, Senior Vice President of Technology and Network Planning, Chief Technology Officer, Verizon Communications, USA

OSA Going to Capitol Hill

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:06:00 GMT

Interested in visiting Capitol Hill? This podcast will cover an exciting opportunity to meet directly with your members of Congress in Washington, D.C. through OSA's Capitol Hill Day event. Hear OSA staff discuss the event and how you can get involved in the legislative process by advocating for important U.S. science policy issues, such as federal funding for R&D. Capitol Hill Day will take place May 9 and 10, coinciding with CLEO/QELS 2007.

Also in this episode:

After 8.5 years at OSA, what is membership services director Aimee Gibbons most frequently asked question from members?

China: Rising Scientific Superpower?

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 20:24:00 GMT

Our first Podcast features Richard Suttmeier, Ph.D., a keynote speaker at the 2007 OSA Winter Leadership Meeting. Introduced by OSA's 2007 president, Dr. Joseph Eberly, Dr. Suttmeier's presentation is about science and technology in China. His presentation includes insights on China's current activities and long-term goals in the areas of intellectual property, research and academic publication.

PowerPoint Presentation: Scientific_Advancement_in_China.ppt

About OSA Podblog

klital@osa.org — Fri, 2 Mar 2007 19:00:00 GMT

OSA is pleased to announce the launch of OSA Podblog! OSA Podblog enables you to listen to podcasts and view PowerPoint slides on your computer or download the audio portion on an MP3 player.

OSA produces free audio, video and enhanced podcasts of popular meeting speakers and special topics for OSA Members.

To suggest future topics or to learn more about the OSA Podblog, please contact KiKi L'Italien, Membership and Education Services Department, at klital@osa.org.