UNM Today: Robert Duncan has been appointeed as the director of the newly-founded New Mexico Consortium’s Institute for Advanced Studies. Duncan is a professor of physics and astronomy, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at UNM and a member of the physics faculty at Caltech. He served as the Gordon and Betty Moore Distinguished Scholar at Caltech, and as the associate dean for research at the UNM College of Arts and Sciences, before becoming the founding director of the IAS.

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Nanotechnology Now: The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering ("CNSE") of the University at Albany today announced the addition of a new faculty member who gained global recognition for his breakthrough in the area of carbon nanotube diodes while working as a senior scientist and project leader at GE Global Research.

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 – Three Optical Society of America (OSA) members were named new members of the National Academy of Engineers (NAE) and two OSA members were named NAE foreign associates last week.  Being elected to the NAE is one of the highest professional honors in the engineering community.

Harold Gene Craighead of Cornell University was selected for his contributions to the fabrication and exploitation of nanostructures for electronic, optical, mechanical, and biological applications.

Robert M. Gray of Stanford University was chosen for his contributions to information theory and data compression.

James Clair Wyant of the College of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona was chosen for his work in the development of interferometric optical measurement techniques with nanometer precision for use in production environments.

Kenichi Iga of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science was selected as a foreign associate for his contributions to advanced optoelectronics, including the vertical-cavity surface-emitting injection laser.

Arnold Migus of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris was chosen as a foreign associate for his contributions to ultrafast and ultrahigh intensity lasers and their applications, especially to fast ignition for inertial confinement fusion.

According to the NAE, Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature," and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

About OSA

Uniting more than 70,000 professionals from 134 countries, the Optical Society of America (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916 OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics.

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 – New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman is being recognized today by the Optical Society of America (OSA) as the organization’s 2007 Advocate of Optics.  Sen. Bingaman was selected as this year’s advocate because of his extraordinary leadership in seeking to increase federal investments in the sciences, including the critical area of research and development (R&D).  He is also being recognized for his work to advance energy efficiency through his continued support for energy-saving optical technologies like solid state lighting (SSL).

“Senator Jeff Bingaman has shown tremendous commitment to advancing important science policy initiatives in the past year and throughout his career as a public official,” said OSA Executive Director Elizabeth Rogan.  “His support of scientific R&D funding and alternative energy legislation has had a positive impact on influencing energy policy designed to make the U.S. more energy independent.”

Sen. Bingaman was actively involved in OSA’s Senate Science and Technology (S&T) Caucus briefing last summer on solid state lighting innovations with optics.  As chair of the S&T Caucus, Bingaman helped draw attention to the importance of optics and photonics – the science of light – by focusing on the energy benefits of solid state lighting. SSL is an optics technology used in highly efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs).  As an alternative to incandescent and fluorescent lighting used in most homes and businesses, LEDs have the potential to reduce the nation’s electricity consumption by 10%, at a savings of approximately $30 billion per year.  As more and more SSL advancements are made possible through federally funded research and development, the amount of energy and money the U.S. can save with LEDs will continue to rise.

To be recognized as an OSA Advocate of Optics, a public official must have a record consistent with his or her support of science, optics and photonics and be an enthusiastic advocate for science policy issues, with particular regard to the advancement of the science of light.

OSA President Joseph Eberly will present Sen. Bingaman with a trophy today on Capitol Hill.

About OSA

Uniting more than 70,000 professionals from 134 countries, the Optical Society of America (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916 OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics. For more information, visit www.osa.org.

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