Joseph Eberly Wins Highest Award of Optical Society of America
Joseph Eberly, Andrew Carnegie Professor of Physics (and Professor of Optics) at the University of Rochester, has won the highest award given by the Optical Society of America: the Frederick Ives Medal. The honor recognizes Professor Eberly's achievements in the field of optics.
Professor Eberly's research interests are in the general field of Theoretical Quantum Optics and AMO science. Recent results from his group include calculations of single-photon wave functions localized in free space that exhibit the binding effects of quantum memory, an examination of cross-talk in qubit chains, and the derivation of a novel "dark area" theorem that governs nonlocal effects in coupled optical pulses. Themes of interest include quantum information and the dynamics of entanglement in continuous Hilbert spaces, coherent quantum control via counter-intuitive dark-state interactions, cavity QED, soliton and adiabaton propagation, and non-sequential double ionization of atoms exposed to high intensity radiation.
Eberly is the third department faculty member to win the Frederick Ives Medal:
The 1993 Medal went to Leonard Mandel, Lee DuBridge Professor Emeritus of Physics and Optics, one of the founders of Quantum Optics. Mandel was known internationally for his groundbreaking experiments on the nature of light. He was the first to actually observe certain remarkable phenomena predicted by quantum theory. He contributed immensely to theoretical and experimental optics.
The 1977 Medal went to Emil Wolf, Wilson Professor of Optical Physics, who formulated the modern theories of coherence and polarization of optical fields. He is the co-author, along with Max Born, of one of the standard textbooks of optics, Principles of Optics. He also co-authored, along with Leonard Mandel, Optical Coherence and Quantum Optics.
In honor of Professor Eberly's award and of Professor Wolf's recent SPIE G. G. Stokes Award, Chair Nicholas P. Bigelow hosted a celebration on Thursday, March 25 in the Department lounge. A large crowd attended, including faculty, staff, and students:
