ECE professors honored by Optica
Two professors in Purdue University’s Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering have been honored by Optica.
Alexandra Boltasseva has been named the R.W. Wood Prize recipient, and Andrew Weiner has been awarded the Charles Hard Townes Medal from Optica, formerly the Optical Society of America.
The R.W. Wood Prize is presented annually in recognition of an outstanding discovery, scientific or technical achievement, or invention in the field of optics. Boltasseva, Ron and Dotty Garvin Tonjes Professor of ECE, was honored for “groundbreaking contributions to the materials aspects of metamaterials, plasmonics and nanophotonics.”
The prize was established in 1975 to honor R.W. Wood’s many contributions to optics.
“R.W. Wood is a legend, and I am deeply humbled to be named alongside past winners — all remarkable scientists, including several Nobelists and other heroes of optics,” Boltasseva said.
The Charles Hard Townes Medal is presented annually to an individual or group for outstanding experimental or theoretical work, discovery or intention in the field of quantum electronics. Weiner, Scifres Family Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was recognized for “groundbreaking work bringing optical frequency combs to the quantum world and developing innovative applications spanning several fields, including coherent control, generation and line-by-line manipulation of frequency combs, and ultrabroadband radio-frequency photonics.”
The medal was established in 1980 to honor Charles Hard Townes, whose pioneering contributions to masers and lasers led to the development of the field of quantum electronics.
“Dr. Townes is famous as the pioneer of quantum electronics, a field in which I have worked more or less my entire career,” Weiner said, “and the list of previous winners of the Townes Medal includes many exceptional individuals, including my own PhD and MS graduate advisors from MIT, Erich Ippen and Hermann Haus.”
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