Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers celebrates 30 years

New York, NY--The Institute for Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Lasers (IUSL) at the City College of New York (CCNY) marks its 30th anniversary in operation this year. To celebrate, the institute will hold its 30th Anniversary Celebration Conference on October 9 on CCNY's campus.

Scientist, entrepreneur, and citizen space traveler Dr. Gregory H. Olsen will give the keynote address. The third private citizen to orbit the Earth on the International Space Station, Olsen co-founded and chaired Sensors Unlimited, which developed several optoelectronic devices used in space and for commercial and military applications.

Conference speakers and participants will include journal editors, innovators, CEOs, and students discussing the field’s history, theory, medical and communications innovations, and future.

Established at The City College of New York in 1982, the IUSL pioneered an entire field of research. “At that time there was no such thing as photonics, no field itself,” says Institute founder and Distinguished Professor of Physics, Dr. Robert Alfano. While other major centers for optics research existed, the IUSL was the first research institute of its kind devoted to the study of applications for ultrafast light.

IUSL investigators study biophotonics, mediphotonics (medical applications), optical and laser physics, and solid-state physics. “These are all real world applications: we detect disease with light, communicate with light, image with light,” says Alfano.

The institute’s missions include the identification and development of emerging technologies and then the development of photonic technology for the commercial marketplace to foster economic development.

Conference highlights include:

9:45 a.m. Dr. Anthony M. Johnson, Professor of Physics, University of Maryland and CCNY alumnus: “Femtosecond Mid-IR Spectroscopy of Quantum Cascade Lasers”

10:05 a.m. Dr. Lihong Wang, Distinguished Professor, Washington University in St. Louis, “Photoacoustics Tomography”

11:20 a.m. Dr. Steve Jacques, Professor, Oregon University, “Optical probing cells and Tissues”

11:40 a.m. Dr. Brian W. Pogue, Professor of Engineering, Dartmouth University: “Imaging Radiation Therapy with Diffuse Light” on the medical imaging of cancer

2:15 p.m. Dr. Bruce Tromberg, UC Irvine, “Medical Imaging with diffusive Photonics”

2:35 p.m. Dr. Robert A. Fisher, inventor, laser physicist and founder of R. A. Fisher Associates, LLC: “A Journey to the Early Days of Pulse Compression and Self-Phase Modulation”.

4:10 p.m. Dr. Jim Fujimoto, Professor of EE, MIT, “Optical Coherence Tomography” – the first FDA-approved clinical laser optical diagnostic method

5:00 p.m. Dr. Peter Delfyett, Professor of Optics at the College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central Florida, CCNY Alumnus “Optical Frequency Combs for Ultrafast Coherent Optical Signal Processing”

6:30 p.m. Dr. Greg Olsen, Scientist, Entrepreneur & Citizen Space Traveler: Keynote Address: “From Entrepreneurship to Spaceship”

For more information, please visit http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/ci/iusl/news_and_events.cfm.

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