Photonics@UCI: Frontiers in Photonics seminar series
Friday, March 11th, 2016 at 11:00 AM
Natural Sciences I, Room 4112
Title: Light vortices and unconventional polarization states
Thomas G Brown
Professor of Optics
The Institute of Optics
University of Rochester
Abstract: A vortex is characterized by a singular point surrounded by a rotating flow field. In optics, vortices are closely tied to basic concepts of angular momentum and usually features a dark spot in a beam about which the energy swirlsin a helical path as it propagates. In the last several decades, scientists and engineers have given a great deal of attention to vortices in the polarization of the optical field. These fit under the general class of unconventional polarization states, in which the polarization varies from point to point in a systematic and symmetric manner. This talk will describe how optical vortices can appear in something as simple as a piece of stressed glass, and how the resulting effects can be used in new kinds of optical measurements.
I will also take a portion of the talk to share perspectives about career opportunities in optics and emerging commercial opportunities in optics and photonics.