Stuttgart, Germany, August 2, 2004--The Laser Institute of America (LIA) has chosen Professor Dr. Helmut Hügel, longtime Director of the Institut für Strahlwerkzeuge (IFSW), University of Stuttgart, to receive the 23nd Arthur L. Schawlow Award. The award will be presented during the International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics on October 6 in San Francisco, CA.
Since 1982, the Schawlow Award has recognized individuals who have made distinguished contributions to applications of lasers in science, industry, or education. The prize is named after Professor Arthur L. Schawlow, who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1981 for his contributions to the development of laser spectroscopy.
Prof. Hügel's research activities with lasers began with investigations of new excitation techniques for gas flow lasers. Basic work performed at the DLR (Institut für Technische Physik), in particular studies related to RF-excited CO2 lasers, have led to high-power devices developed by German companies. At the IFSW, Prof. Hügel pursued scientific topics in an integrated approach, focusing on the development of laser sources and laser materials processing. He has published numerous articles on plasma dynamics, laser physics and development, gas dynamic components, interaction phenomena, and process development, and he wrote the first German textbook on laser technology for engineering students. Until May 31, 2004 Helmut Hügel was director of the IFSW at the University of Stuttgart.
