Frontiers in Photonics seminar series: Light vortices and unconventional polarization states

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.

About the speaker: Thomas Brown has been on the faculty of The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, since 1987.  His research specialties are optical polarization, the interaction of polarized light with particles and nano structures,  and new ways of understanding and measuring the coherence of light. He is an OSA fellow, has served the society in numerous capacities, and is an honorary lifetime member of the local chapter of the OSA.
Friday, March 11th, 2016 at 11:00 AM

NS1 4112

Frontiers in Photonics seminar: Dr. Bruce Itchkawitz

FRONTIERS IN PHOTONICS presents

Protecting Innovations in Photonics

Bruce Itchkawitz, Ph.D.

Patent Attorney, Knobbe Martens Intellectual Property Law.
1:00-2:00pm, Wednesday, November 4th, 2015
Location: Natural Science II, Room# 2201
 
Abstract: Dr. Itchkawitz will share his career path from research physicist to patent attorney and will illustrate the basics of patents that innovators in academia and industry should know.
About the speaker: Bruce S. Itchkawitz is a Registered Patent Attorney and Partner of Knobbe Martens Intellectual Property Law.  He focuses on patent protection for a wide range of complex technologies, including optical systems for telecommunications and remote sensing, computer memory modules, laser-based medical devices, steerable wellbore drilling systems, nanotechnology, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).
Prior to joining the firm, Dr. Itchkawitz worked as a post-doctoral researcher in the Chemistry Department of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he utilized scanning-tunneling microscopy in the study of semiconductor surfaces.  He has also worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the National Synchrotron Light Source of Brookhaven National Laboratory for the Fritz-Haber Institute of Berlin, Germany, conducting studies of materials using synchrotron radiation.  Dr. Itchkawitz has also worked at IBM Corp. in Endicott, New York as an engineer in an advanced test technology department.
Frontiers in Photonics – Bruce Itchkawitz

Photonics@UCI Welcome Party!

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Come join us this Friday Oct 2nd at 6pm at the PV Club House for our Welcome Party! There will be FREE BEER, FREE FOOD, and LASERS! How often do you hear that? Also, we are raffling off a beautiful poster in celebration of the International Year of Light. Come learn about what we do. We like optics, we like science, we like art.
 

Frontiers in Photonics seminar series: Dr. Ramanathan on the Raman effect

Photonics@UCI present the last seminar of the 2014-15 academic year:
Raman and His Effect: A historical and Biographical account
by Dr. V. Ramanathan, assistant professor at SASTRA University, India.

Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 2:00 PM

Natural Sciences 2 building, room 1201

Abstract: The Raman effect began with a simple observation: a “weak fluorescence” exhibited by organic solvents upon irradiating with the light from a mercury arc lamp. It has since then seen wide and exotic applications in fields like bio-medical imaging, forensic science, combustion spectroscopy etc. In this presentation, I would like to talk about the historical developments in the discovery of this optical phenomenon, alongside touching upon the biographical aspects of the scientist after whom the effect is named.
About the speaker: V. Ramanathan is currently a Fulbright Visiting Scholar in the Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine. He completed his PhD in 2008 from IIT Kanpur, India, working on laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy of organic molecules in supersonic jet. After a couple of postdocs in S. Korea, Germany and Switzerland, he is currently an assistant professor in the department of Chemistry at SASTRA University, Tamil Nadu, India. His current research interests are in bio-medical imaging using Raman micro-spectroscopy.

Light Symposium: Light in Industry

For the Light in Industry segment of the symposium, we had two speakers from nearby companies. Horiba Scientific and Newport Corp. are two big names in the light industry and their products find application in a plethora of light technologies. Dr. Eunah Lee, Applications Scientist at Horiba Scientific was our first speaker. In the first part of the talk, she spoke about the career paths and directions open for a student in the fields of optics and photonics and how one can make their career choices. She shared her own experiences with an engaged audience. Being an expert in Raman spectroscopy, the second part of her talk comprised of various application of Raman spectroscopy, including biology and drug industry. Her presentation educated us about the capabilities of Raman spectroscopy to answer various scientific questions.
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Our second speaker was Mr. James Fisher who is the Vice President of Newport Corporation. He gave an inspirational talk on how light is being used every day to derive innovation. The talk focused on Newport’s mission statement “To develop & deliver photonics technology and products that extend the frontiers of science and improve our world”. He spoke to us about the products developed at Newport Corp., which supports a myriad of light based technologies, with every day utility. Through various examples and videos, Mr. Fisher showed us the application of light to ‘make’, ‘manage’ and ‘measure’.
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Light Symposium – Light in Arts

Light as material and metaphor

Stephen Barker’s talk, “Light as Material and Metaphor” was one of the most
engaging talks I’ve attended while at UCI. Stephen Barker is currently serv-
ing as Interim Dean of Arts, but nevertheless enthusiastically answered our call
for talks when we first dreamed of the Light Symposium, an interdisciplinary
collaboration of various departments on campus. Stephen opened up with a
general walkthrough of light in art, and how its use has always been the center-
fold for many of the great artists. The evolution of light in art, however, as a
sort of tool to the focus and crux of a piece, was the most englightening part of
the talk for me. Stephan, speaking with increasing excitement, navigated us
through various interpretations of light, opening up new meanings and discus-
sions. Especially illuminating was the discussion of J.M. Turner’s use of light
as it progressed from tool to subject.
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Improv game: how to create a graveyard in East Texas

Dr. Jaymi Lee Smith, a skilled lighting director and professor in the Theatre
department here at UC Irvine, good-naturedly took the random suggestions
from a bunch of over-caeinated scientists:
J: So how are we going to place our character in a graveyard in East Texas?
Audience: backlighting!
J: How much?
Someone in the audience: …63
Jaymi walked us through how a lighting director thinks and experiences the
stage. In the smallish, but intimate, Nixon Theatre nestled into a crook of the
arts department, next to buckets of chemicals used for developing photographs,
we were able to create outlandish scenes and asburd storylines using Jaymi’s
suggestions and expertise. It was one of the most unique experiences of the
Light Symposium: I think it’s safe to say that not many of us have, or will
have, the experinces of lighting an entire stage using top-notching technology,
and with Jaymi’s guidance, it was a blast.
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Reception at Play: in Three Acts

To celebrate the end of the Light Symposium, we partnered with Samantha
Young from the Beall Center of Art+Technology to bring you Play: in Three
Acts. Each interactive exhibit by artists from around the country explored
dierent aspects of light in exceptionally entertaining ways. In the first exhibit,
one creates waves by moving through a fixture hanging from the ceiling, and
so sparks a cacaphony of previously recorded sounds that are on a 20 minutes
loop, so every iteration is different. In the other, two people race using various
lamps from different eras found at yard sales form around the country. In the
third – and I will fully admit to be scared out of my wits – one is submerged in

total darkness, and like in the first exhibit, one’s body movements through the
space sparks sounds that follow you around as you try to find your way back
to the light. Although spooky, it was interesting, and important, to recall that
we only have light because we also have darkness, a theme that we seemed to
explore in one way or another through all the exhibits and talks at the Light
Symposium.
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Light Symposium – Light in everyday life

That light dictates our everyday lives is unquestionable. The day is defined by the Sun light, at night we turn on the lamps, we have all become instant photographers, and we connect to each other with video calls.
But does everyone know what light is? The most adventurers will enter the wave-particle discussion. Others will say light is a positive glowing energy. Prof. Eric Potma guided us through the history of light as a concept until the word “photon” was coined, which funny enough was not to define light. Eric started the journey in the ancient Greece, when Leucippus considered light as particles, idea that was vastly ignored until centuries later. He then discussed the origin of light: were the objects emitting it, or were our eyes, as Plato sustained? With the introduction of the light ray concept from Euclide and Diocles, we started to suspect that light was something independent of our own eyes. Eric explained to us the Archimedes mirror, which might have been used to burn down roman vessels by creating heat rays. You can find out if this is a myth in this episode of the Myth-busters. We then travelled forward in time with Alhazen contribtions, Zacharias Janssen’s microscope, Newton, Huygens and Maxwell’s theories, all the way to Einstein’s points of view and Lewis naming. Today, a photon is considered to be the elementary unit of light, or quanta of light, as Einstein and Planck referred to.
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Donn Silberman was our second invited speaker. He provided a detailed explanation on why we are celebrating the International Year of Light, you can find facts, figures, and all the activities around the Globe in the official website. Light impacts so many areas of our lives that it is important to be aware of what is being done with it and what possibilities it offers. Donn also emphasized the excellent light-based research that is being done at UC Irvine.
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