October 19, 2005, Tucson, AZ--The membership of the Optical Society of America (OSA) has elected Rod Alferness, senior vice president of optical networking research at Bell Laboratories, as its 2006 vice president. During this year's vote, Ken Baldwin, Philip Bucksbaum, and Ian Walmsley were also elected as new directors at large.
By accepting the vice presidency, Alferness makes a four-year commitment to OSA's board of directors. As vice president, Alferness will automatically become president-elect in 2007, president in 2008 and past president in 2009. The new directors at large will each hold their position for three years.
"We are honored to have Rod Alferness as our 2006 vice president. He has been an active member of the Society and a well respected member in our community," said Elizabeth Rogan, executive director. "The OSA Board and staff look forward to working with him."
Alferness was an elected member of the OSA Board of Directors from 2001 through 2003. He has served as a chair on the CLEO Program Committee, the OFC/NFOEC Program Committee, the Photonics in Switching Program Committee, and the Fellows and Honorary Members Committee. He was also a member of the Board of Editors and the Tyndall Award Selection Committee. Alferness was the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Lightwave Technology and an associate editor of Optics Letters and Photonic Technology Letters.