WASHINGTON, June 4 – The Optical Society (OSA) today
announced that it will host two energy meetings in Tucson: The
Imaging and Applied Optics Congress, June 7-8, at the Westin La
Paloma, and the Optical Interference Coatings Topical Meeting, June
6-11, at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. Both events will include
a focus on technical breakthroughs in optics and photonics
affecting the areas of alternative energy and the environment.
The Imaging and Applied Optics Congress (
http://www.osa.org/Meetings/optics_and_photonics_congresses/Imaging_Congress/Default.aspx)
includes two topical meetings on energy and the environment:
The Congress also features Optics in Energy: A Live Interactive
Short Course, covering the expanding roles of optics and photonics
in the generation and conservation of solar energy. Intended for
researchers, engineers, students and others looking to enhance
their knowledge of the solar and optics fields, lectures will
include background tutorials, updates on recent R&D results,
and the status of manufacturing and deployments in the areas of
silicon and thin-film photovoltaics, solar concentrators and more.
The course takes place Monday, June 7 from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. at
the University of Arizona Optical Sciences Center.
http://www.osa.org/Meetings/topical_meetings/SOLAR/short_course.aspx
Highlights of the Optical Interference Coatings Topical Meeting
(
http://www.osa.org/meetings/topical_meetings/oic/default.aspx)
include:
- Evening Session Keynote Speaker: Edward Moses, Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory
Topic: LIFE: A Path to Laser Fusion Energy
Monday, June 7, 5 – 6:30 p.m.
An internationally recognized laser and optical science expert,
Moses is the director for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and
the principal associate director for the NIF and Photon Science
organization at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in
Livermore, Calif. He is responsible for completing construction and
activation of NIF, the world's largest and most energetic laser
system. Moses will discuss a laser fusion-based energy concept that
builds on NIF ignition, known as LIFE (Laser Inertial Fusion
Engine), which is currently under development. LIFE is inherently
safe and can provide a global carbon-free energy generation
solution in the 21st century. The talk will discuss recent progress
on NIF and the role of NIF in future energy security and frontier
science.
- LaserFest Evening Session Keynote Speaker: Robert Byer,
Stanford University
Topic: The Laser at 50: Gain Media, Resonators (Coatings), and
Pumping Means
Tuesday, June 8, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Held in conjunction with LaserFest, the science community's
celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first working laser,
Robert Byer of Stanford University will discuss how advances in
laser sources could not have happened without corresponding
advances in optical coatings. The talk will review, from a laser
point of view, the fortunes and misfortunes of optical coatings
combined with lasers. Byer has conducted research and taught
classes in lasers and nonlinear optics at Stanford University since
1969. He has made numerous contributions to laser science and
technology including the demonstration of the first tunable visible
parametric oscillator, the development of the Q-switched unstable
resonator Nd:YAG laser, remote sensing using tunable infrared
sources and precision spectroscopy using Coherent Anti Stokes Raman
Scattering (CARS).
Additionally, on June 7, OSA President James C. Wyant, dean of
the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona, will
honor Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) as OSA's 2010 Advocate of
Optics. Giffords was chosen for her work on H.R. 3585, the Solar
Technology Roadmap Act, legislation that seeks to improve solar
technology research, development and demonstration programs. She is
also being recognized for her work on the U.S. House of
Representatives' Science and Technology Committee. Wyant will
present the award at 9:30 a.m. in Room 307 of the Meinel Optical
Science Building at the University of Arizona.
SOURCE