Tuesday, September 30, 2014

LPTH Press Release: LightPath Technologies Announces Order with HDOEI for New Application


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

LightPath Technologies Announces Order with HDOEI for New Application



New Consumer Tool Line Requires One Million Aspheric Lenses


ORLANDO, FL – September 30, 2014 – LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPTH) (“LightPath,” the “Company” or “we”), a leading vertically integrated global manufacturer and distributor of proprietary optical components, infrared lenses and high-level assemblies, announced today it has received a new order from laser component manufacturer Changzhou Huada Kejie Opto-Electro Instrument CO., LTD (“HDOEI”) for 1,000,000 molded aspheric lenses.  The lenses will be used in a new line of surveying equipment for the do-it-yourself home improvement market.  LightPath expects delivery of the lenses to be completed before the end of 2015.



Jim Gaynor, CEO of LightPath Technologies, commented, “We are very pleased to strengthen our partnership with HDOEI, a market leader in laser surveying equipment, as they continue to expand their market presence and enter the home improvement market in China and other countries in Asia. This order reflects our ability to provide high-volume manufacturing of precision glass molded aspheres at an excellent value to our customers. Moreover, our efforts with HDOEI demonstrate the successful execution of our demand-creation strategy.  We are benefiting from a substantial increase in revenue generating opportunities and broader market applications as a result of our investments in technologies that decreased our lens production costs and expanded our production capacity.”



HDOEI, located in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, manufactures laser surveying instruments and accessories for Fortune 500 construction engineering companies worldwide.    The lenses chosen for this latest contract awarded to LightPath is part of its laser tool lens line.  The lenses will be produced in LightPath’s recently opened high volume production facility in Zhenjiang, China.



Mr. Ou Zhang, General Manager and CEO of HDOEI, added “We are proud of the continued partnership with LightPath Technologies and look forward to future endeavors with this leading optical manufacturer. With cooperation from LightPath, HDOEI will begin the development of the modern smart home market in China and Asia.”



About LightPath Technologies:

LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPTH) provides optics and photonics solutions for the industrial, defense, telecommunications, testing and measurement, and medical industries. LightPath designs, manufactures, and distributes optical and infrared components including molded glass aspheric lenses and assemblies, infrared lenses and thermal imaging assemblies, fused fiber collimators, and gradient index GRADIUM® lenses. LightPath also offers custom optical assemblies, including full engineering design support.  For more information, visit www.lightpath.com.





About Changzhou Huada Kejie Opto-Electro Instrument CO., LTD (“HDOEI”)

HDOEI is an enterprise that specializes in the manufacturing of laser precision and surveying instruments, and accessories for construction engineering and geological surveying. HDOEI is equipped with advanced technology machines and measuring instruments, and has established excellent cooperation with well known construction engineering companies. HDOEI produces custom solutions and products. For more information, visit www.huadalasers.com/english.



This news release includes statements that constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding our ability to expand our presence in certain markets, future sales growth, continuing reductions in cash usage and implementation of new distribution channels. This information may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, factors detailed by LightPath Technologies, Inc. in its public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, we do not have any intention or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.



###

Company Contact:   

Rob Myers

Director of Sales        


407-382-4003 x333



Investor Contact:

Jordan Darrow

Darrow Associates, Inc.


631-367-1866



Monday, September 29, 2014

Seminar: "A Taxonomy of the Magneto-Optical Responses of Cyclic Plasmon-Supporting Metal Oligomers" by David J. Masiello 11.6.14/ 11:00am-12:00pm/ CREOL 103

Seminar: "A Taxonomy of the Magneto-Optical Responses of Cyclic Plasmon-Supporting Metal Oligomers" by David J. Masiello
Thursday, November 6, 2014 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
CREOL Room 103

David J. Masiello, Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry, University of Washington

Abstract:
The optical-frequency magnetic and electric properties of cyclic plasmon-supporting metal nanoparticle oligomers are explored through a combination of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM)/electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) simulation and first-principles theory. A tight-binding type model is introduced to explore the rich hybridization physics in these plasmonic systems and tested with full-wave numerical electrodynamics simulations of the STEM electron probe. Building from a microscopic electric model, connection is made at the macroscopic level between the hybridization of localized magnetic moments into delocalized magnetic plasmons of controllable magnetic order and the mixing of atomic p_z orbitals into delocalized pi molecular orbitals of varying nodal structure spanning the molecule. It is found that the STEM electrons are uniquely capable of exciting all of the different hybridized eigenmodes of the nanoparticle assembly---including multipolar closed-loop ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic plasmons, giant electric dipole resonances, and radial breathing modes---by raster scanning the beam to the appropriate position. Comparison to plane-wave light scattering and cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy is made. The presented work provides a unified understanding of the complete plasmon eigenstructure of such oligomer systems as well as of the excitation conditions necessary to probe each mode.

Biography:
David J. Masiello completed a B.S. degree in mathematics from the University of Florida in 1999.  He then joined the University of Florida's Quantum Theory Project as a graduate student in chemical physics, where, in 2004, he received the Ph.D. degree working under the tutelage of Professor Yngve Öhrn.  His dissertation work explored a nonperturbative treatment of the interaction between molecules and the electromagnetic field, accounting for the redistribution of energy not only between different internal molecular degrees of freedom but also for its liberation to the dynamical electromagnetic field.  He then took two postdoctoral positions, one with Prof. William P. Reinhardt at the University of Washington (2004-2006) and the second with Professor George C. Schatz at Northwestern University (2006-2009).  Subsequently, David was hired back to the University of Washington in 2010 where he is now an assistant professor in theoretical chemistry.  Currently, Professor Masiello's research focuses on the theoretical understanding of a variety of nanoscale light-matter interactions involving the excitation of surface plasmon resonances.  Examples include electron energy-loss spectroscopy, cathodoluminescence, thermo-plasmonics, plasmon-enhanced catalysis, and plasmon-enhanced linear and nonlinear molecular optical phenomena.  As of Spring 2014, David is also a faculty member by courtesy in the Physics and Applied Mathematics departments at UW.

For more information:
Dr. Leonid Glebov

407-823-6983

Thursday, September 25, 2014

TOMORROW! Seminar: "Recent advances in LIBS instrumentation: Application in quantification and elemental imaging" by Vincent Motto-Ros 9.26.14/ 11:00am-12:00pm/ CREOL Rm 103

Seminar: "Recent advances in LIBS instrumentation: Application in quantification and elemental imaging" by Vincent Motto-Ros
Friday, September 26, 2014 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
CREOL Room 103

Abstract
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is recognized as a promising technique which enables elemental analysis of any type of material. It is extremely versatile with high potential in term of applications, offering standoff analysis capability, requiring only simple sample preparation, and providing fast and real-time analysis. However, improving the repeatability and the reproducibility of LIBS measurements is still the challenging issue faced by the technique to fit the requirements of precise and accurate quantitative analysis.
In the first part of this presentation, I will describe a new generation of LIBS instrument developed in our institute. The basic instrumental concept is to assist, either manually or automatically, the optical detection fiber by a real-time imaging of the plasma. This tends to improve greatly the stability of LIBS measurement in short as well in long terms [1], allowing unprecedented level of performances in elemental quantification (c.f. fig. 1a.). In the second part, some of our recent results will be presented in the frame of elemental imaging of biological tissue. We will show different examples of elemental images, sections of tumors and murine kidneys, with an investigation focused on the renal clearance of theranostic gadolinium-based nanoparticles (Fig. 1b.). The efficiency of LIBS imaging allows elements being mapped and quantified in tissues without any labeling and with an instrumentation fully compatible with standard optical microscope systems, offering a valuable tools in the fields of nanotechnology, biology, as well as medicine. [2].
Fig. 1. a) Example of calibration curve typically obtained with our LIBS setup. b) Elemental imaging principle and example of images obtained for a section of murine kidneys with 20 µm space resolution.


[1]   Motto-Ros, V et al. Precise alignment of the collection fiber assisted by real-time plasma imaging in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Spectrochim. Acta B 92, 60-69 (2014).
[2]   Sancey, L. et al. Laser spectrometry for multi-elemental imaging of biological tissues, Sc. Rep. 4, 6065 (2014).

Biography:
Associated Professor, Institut Lumière Matière, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Domaine Scientifique de La Doua, Bâtiment Kastler, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
Vincent Motto-Ros graduated with a M.S. in "Laser and Spectroscopy" in the University of Lyon (France) in 2002 and continued to complete his Ph.D. in the 'Laboratoire de Spectrométrie Ionique et Moléculaire' (Lasim, Lyon) working on "high-precision and high-sensitive spectroscopy of gaseous molecular species (O2, H2O, NO2) using high finesse cavities pumped by CW laser diode" under the direction of Pr. Patrick Rairoux. He starts his research on LIBS in 2007 with a post-Doc position in the Canadian Space Agency for which he demonstrated the potential of artificial neural network (ANN) in LIBS data processing for material identification and quantitative measurements of elements of planetological interest. He was recruited in 2008 by the Lyon 1 University as Associated Professor in the Jin Yu’s team (LASIM, called now Light and Matter Institute). He developed advanced experimental setups for fundamental research as well as applications related to laser-induced plasma. His panel covers the fundamentals of laser-induced plasmas, the application of laser spectroscopies such as LIBS, Fluorescence and Raman, as fundamental diagnostics as well as sensing techniques for industrial, environmental, geological and biomedical applications.

For additional information:  
Dr. Matthieu Baudelet

407-823-6910

TOMORROW! SPIE Student Chapter Faculty Talk Series: “Perspectives on a Research Career – from Industrial Research at Bell Communications Research to Academia” by Dr. Peter J. Delfyett 9.26.14/ 12:30-1:30pm/ CREOL Rm 103

SPIE Student Chapter Faculty Talk Series: “Perspectives on a Research Career – from Industrial Research at Bell Communications Research to Academia” by Dr. Peter J. Delfyett
Friday, September 26, 2014 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
CREOL Room 103


Abstract:
This presentation will be a personal perspective on how one can manage their research career, whether it is in a world class industrial research lab or in a research intensive university. I will try to highlight the inherent challenges and rewards one might encounter on either path.  I will also discuss the transition from graduate school to the professional career, as well as suggest possible strategies to help in navigating the difficult times.

Biography:
Peter J. Delfyett received the B.E.(E.E.) degree from The City College of New York in 1981, the M.S. degree in EE from The University of Rochester  in 1983,  the M. Phil and Ph.D. degrees from The Graduate School & University Center of the City University of New York in 1987 and 1988, respectively.  His Ph.D. thesis was focused on developing a real time ultrafast spectroscopic probe to study molecular and phonon dynamics in condensed matter using optical phase conjugation techniques. 
After obtaining the Ph.D. degree, he joined Bell Communication Research as a Member of the Technical Staff, where he concentrated his efforts towards generating ultrafast high power optical pulses from semiconductor diode lasers, for applications in applied photonic networks.  Some of his technical accomplishments were the development of the world’s fastest, most powerful modelocked semiconductor laser diode, the demonstration of an optically distributed clocking network for high speed digital switches and supercomputer applications, and the first observation of the optical nonlinearity induced by the cooling of highly excited electron-hole pairs in semiconductor optical amplifiers.  While at Bellcore, Dr. Delfyett received numerous awards for his technical achievements in these areas, including the Bellcore Synergy Award and the Bellcore Award of Appreciation.
Dr. Delfyett joined the faculty at the College of Optics & Photonics and the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) at the University of Central Florida in 1993, and currently holds the positions of University of Central Florida Trustee Chair Professor of Optics, ECE & Physics.
Dr. Delfyett served as the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics (2001-2006), and served on the Board of Directors of the Optical Society of America.  He served as an Associate Editor of IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, was Executive Editor of IEEE LEOS Newsletter (1995-2000) and sits on the Presidential Science Advisory Council of the Orlando Science Center.  He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, Fellow of IEEE Photonics Society, Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, was a member of the Board of Governors of IEEE-LEOS (2000-2002), and is also a member of Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Sigma Xi, and SPIE. Dr. Delfyett has been awarded the 1992 YMCA New Jersey Black Achievement Award, the 1993 National Black Engineer of the Year Award – Most Promising Engineer, the University Distinguished Research Award ’99, and highlighted in Design News’ “Engineering Achievement Awards”.  In addition, Dr. Delfyett has been awarded the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Faculty Fellow Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which is awarded to the Nation’s top 20 young scientists.  Dr. Delfyett has published over 700 articles in refereed journals and conference proceedings, has been awarded 36 United States Patents, and has been highlighted on ‘C-SPAN’, “mainstreekweek.com” and in “Career Encounters”, a PBS Special on technical careers in the optics and photonics field.  Dr. Delfyett was awarded the 1999 University Distinguished Researcher of the Year Award, the 2000 Black Engineer of the Year Award – Outstanding Alumnus Achievement, and the 2000 Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award.  He was awarded the University of Central Florida’s 2001 Pegasus Professor Award which is the highest honor awarded by the University.  He is also a Founding Member in NSF’s Scientists and Engineers in the School Program, which is a program to teach 8th graders about the benefits of science, engineering and technology in society.  In 2003, Dr. Delfyett received the Technology Innovation Awardfrom the Orlando Economic Development Commission.  He was selected as one of the “50 Most Important Blacks in Research Science in 2004” and as a “Science Trailblazer in 2005 and 2006” by Career Communications Group and Science Spectrum Magazine.  He was awarded the APS Edward Bouchet Award for his significant scientific contributions in the area of ultrafast optical device physics and semiconductor diode based ultrafast lasers, and for his exemplary and continuing efforts in the career development of underrepresented minorities in science and engineering.  Dr. Delfyett has also endeavored to transfer technology to the private sector, and helped to found “Raydiance, Inc.” which is a spin-off company developing high power, ultrafast laser systems, based on Dr. Delfyett’s research, for applications in medicine, defense, material processing, biotech and other key technological markets.   Dr. Delfyett was also elected to serve 2 terms as President of the National Society of Black Physicists (2008-2012).  Most recently, he was awarded the 2014 Medalist from the Florida Academy of Sciences for his outstanding contributions scientific research, and to the stimulation of interest and promotion of scientific knowledge.


For additional information
Javed Rouf Talukder

President of SPIE student chapter

Friday, September 19, 2014

SPIE Student Chapter Faculty Talk Series: “Perspectives on a Research Career – from Industrial Research at Bell Communications Research to Academia” by Dr. Peter J. Delfyett 9.26.14/ 12:30-1:30pm/ CREOL 103

SPIE Student Chapter Faculty Talk Series: “Perspectives on a Research Career – from Industrial Research at Bell Communications Research to Academia” by Dr. Peter J. Delfyett
Friday, September 26, 2014 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
CREOL Room 103

Abstract:
This presentation will be a personal perspective on how one can manage their research career, whether it is in a world class industrial research lab or in a research intensive university. I will try to highlight the inherent challenges and rewards one might encounter on either path.  I will also discuss the transition from graduate school to the professional career, as well as suggest possible strategies to help in navigating the difficult times.

Biography:
Peter J. Delfyett received the B.E.(E.E.) degree from The City College of New York in 1981, the M.S. degree in EE from The University of Rochester  in 1983,  the M. Phil and Ph.D. degrees from The Graduate School & University Center of the City University of New York in 1987 and 1988, respectively.  His Ph.D. thesis was focused on developing a real time ultrafast spectroscopic probe to study molecular and phonon dynamics in condensed matter using optical phase conjugation techniques. 
After obtaining the Ph.D. degree, he joined Bell Communication Research as a Member of the Technical Staff, where he concentrated his efforts towards generating ultrafast high power optical pulses from semiconductor diode lasers, for applications in applied photonic networks.  Some of his technical accomplishments were the development of the world’s fastest, most powerful modelocked semiconductor laser diode, the demonstration of an optically distributed clocking network for high speed digital switches and supercomputer applications, and the first observation of the optical nonlinearity induced by the cooling of highly excited electron-hole pairs in semiconductor optical amplifiers.  While at Bellcore, Dr. Delfyett received numerous awards for his technical achievements in these areas, including the Bellcore Synergy Award and the Bellcore Award of Appreciation.
Dr. Delfyett joined the faculty at the College of Optics & Photonics and the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) at the University of Central Florida in 1993, and currently holds the positions of University of Central Florida Trustee Chair Professor of Optics, ECE & Physics.
Dr. Delfyett served as the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics (2001-2006), and served on the Board of Directors of the Optical Society of America.  He served as an Associate Editor of IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, was Executive Editor of IEEE LEOS Newsletter (1995-2000) and sits on the Presidential Science Advisory Council of the Orlando Science Center.  He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, Fellow of IEEE Photonics Society, Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, was a member of the Board of Governors of IEEE-LEOS (2000-2002), and is also a member of Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Sigma Xi, and SPIE. Dr. Delfyett has been awarded the 1992 YMCA New Jersey Black Achievement Award, the 1993 National Black Engineer of the Year Award – Most Promising Engineer, the University Distinguished Research Award ’99, and highlighted in Design News’ “Engineering Achievement Awards”.  In addition, Dr. Delfyett has been awarded the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Faculty Fellow Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which is awarded to the Nation’s top 20 young scientists.  Dr. Delfyett has published over 700 articles in refereed journals and conference proceedings, has been awarded 36 United States Patents, and has been highlighted on ‘C-SPAN’, “mainstreekweek.com” and in “Career Encounters”, a PBS Special on technical careers in the optics and photonics field.  Dr. Delfyett was awarded the 1999 University Distinguished Researcher of the Year Award, the 2000 Black Engineer of the Year Award – Outstanding Alumnus Achievement, and the 2000 Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award.  He was awarded the University of Central Florida’s 2001 Pegasus Professor Award which is the highest honor awarded by the University.  He is also a Founding Member in NSF’s Scientists and Engineers in the School Program, which is a program to teach 8th graders about the benefits of science, engineering and technology in society.  In 2003, Dr. Delfyett received the Technology Innovation Awardfrom the Orlando Economic Development Commission.  He was selected as one of the “50 Most Important Blacks in Research Science in 2004” and as a “Science Trailblazer in 2005 and 2006” by Career Communications Group and Science Spectrum Magazine.  He was awarded the APS Edward Bouchet Award for his significant scientific contributions in the area of ultrafast optical device physics and semiconductor diode based ultrafast lasers, and for his exemplary and continuing efforts in the career development of underrepresented minorities in science and engineering.  Dr. Delfyett has also endeavored to transfer technology to the private sector, and helped to found “Raydiance, Inc.” which is a spin-off company developing high power, ultrafast laser systems, based on Dr. Delfyett’s research, for applications in medicine, defense, material processing, biotech and other key technological markets.   Dr. Delfyett was also elected to serve 2 terms as President of the National Society of Black Physicists (2008-2012).  Most recently, he was awarded the 2014 Medalist from the Florida Academy of Sciences for his outstanding contributions scientific research, and to the stimulation of interest and promotion of scientific knowledge.

For additional information
Javed Rouf Talukder

President of SPIE student chapter

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Seminar: "Semiconductor Nanomaterials for Information and Energy Technologies" by Dr. Yajie Dong 10.6.14/ 11:00am-12:00pm/ CREOL 103

Seminar: "Semiconductor Nanomaterials for Information and Energy Technologies" by Dr. Yajie Dong
Monday, October 6, 2014 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
CREOL Room 103


ABSTRACT:
Low dimensional nanomaterials (1 D nanowires and 0 D quantum dots) represent important nanoscale building blocks with substantial potential for exploring new device concepts and materials for nanoelectronics, optoelectronics and energy technology applications. Three examples will be presented.  First, I will discuss my discovery of unique rectified silver/amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon (Ag/a-Si/c-Si) crossbar resistive random access memory (RRAM) effect in c-Si/a-Si core/shell nanowires and provide a comprehensive comparison between nanowire based and planar silicon based Ag/a-Si/c-Si RRAMs. The history of how this accidental nanowire based discovery solved a decades-long sneak current problem in RRAM field and eventually evolved into a game changing mainstream flash memory successor, Crossbar Memory, will be presented. Then I will report the experimental realization of high efficiency single coaxial group III-nitride heterostructured nanowire photovoltaic devices and light emitting devices. Meanwhile, a universal van der Waals epitaxial growth strategy for compound semiconductor nanowire arrays will be discussed. The vision of how the combination of nanowire array growth and heterostructured nanowire devices could possibly change the substrate limited status of III-Nitride research fields will be outlined. Lastly, I will present how quantum dots materials innovation and novel device structure design/processing helped resolve one long standing issue for organic based light emitting devices, the efficiency roll off at high driving current density. As a result, record breaking ultrabright, highly efficient, low roll off inverted red quantum dot light emitting devices (QLEDs) have been achieved (165,000Cd/m2 at <6v attack="" be="" discussed="" driving="" end.="" in="" instability="" issue="" long="" of="" only="" p="" qleds="" remaining="" strategies="" term="" the="" to="" voltage="" will="">

BIOGRAPHY:
Dr. Yajie Dong is an assistant professor in NanoScience Technology Center of University of Central Florida. He got his BS and MS degrees in Chemistry from Tsinghua University of Beijing, China. In 2010, he received his PhD degree from Prof. Charles Lieber's group at Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department of Harvard University. From 2010 to 2012, he was a postdoctoral associate working with Professors Yet-Ming Chiang and W. Craig Carter in the department of Material Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before joining NSTC of UCF in August 2014, he worked as a Senior Scientist for QD Vision Inc., a Nanotech Startup based on research of Professors Moungi Bawendi and Vladimir Bulovic’s groups at MIT and located in Lexington, MA. He is broadly interested in materials challenges in nanoelectronics, optoelectronics and energy technologies, particularly in nanoscale nonvolatile resistive switches for information processing and storage, compound semiconductor nanowires or quantum dots based high efficiency energy conversion (LED and PV) devices and new battery materials and architectures for large scale energy storage.

For additional information: 
Dr. Bahaa Saleh
Dean & Director, Professor of Optics
407-882-3326

Monday, September 15, 2014

Seminar: "Sensing molecules with frequency combs" By Dr. Konstantin Vodopyanov 11.7.14/ 12:00-1:00pm/ CREOL Rm 103

Abstract:
Optical frequency combs produced in the visible spectral range by ultrafast mode-locked lasers have revolutionized precision spectroscopy and time metrology, culminating in the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics. I will present a new technique for extending frequency combs to the highly desirable yet difficult-to-achieve mid-infrared range - the region of fundamental molecular vibrational-rotational resonances (fingerprints). The technique is based on subharmonic optical parametric oscillation (OPO) that can be considered as a reverse of second harmonic generation. Using ultrafast erbium or thulium fiber lasers as a pump, we produce frequency combs that are approximately octave wide and centered around 3 µm or 4 µm in wavelength. I will talk about coherent properties of the generated mid-IR combs, as well as their applications for trace molecular detection.

Biography:
Konstantin L. Vodopyanov obtained his MS degree from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology ("Phys-Tech") and accomplished his PhD and DSc (Habilitation) in the Oscillations Lab. of Lebedev Physical Institute (later General Physics Inst.), led by Nobel Prize winner Alexander Prokhorov. He was an assistant professor at Moscow Phys-Tech (1985-90), Alexander-von-Humboldt Fellow at the University of Bayreuth, Germany (1990-92), and a Royal Society postdoctoral fellow and lecturer at Imperial College, London, UK (1992-98). In 1998, he moved to the United States and became head of the laser group at Inrad, Inc., NJ (1998-2000), and later director of mid-IR systems at Picarro, Inc.,CA (2000-2003). His other industry experience includes co-founding and providing technical guidance for several US and European companies. In 2003 he returned to Academia (Stanford University, 2003-2013) and is now a 21st Century Scholar Chair & Professor of Optics at CREOL, College of Optics & Photonics, Univ. Central Florida. Dr. Vodopyanov is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), Optical Society of America (OSA), SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering, UK Institute of Physics (IOP), and a Senior Member of IEEE. He has > 325 technical publications and is member of program committees for several major laser conferences including CLEO (most recent, General Chair in 2010) and Photonics West (Conference Chair). His research interests include nonlinear optics, laser spectroscopy, mid-IR and terahertz-wave generation, ultra broadband frequency combs and their biomedical applications.

For additional information:

Konstantin Vodopyanov

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Distinguished Seminar Series: "Optical technologies paving the road from Helmet Mounted Displays to Virtual and Augmented Reality consumer headsets, Smart Glasses and Smart Eyewear." by Bernard Kress, PhD. 10.10.14/12:00pm-1:00pm/ CREOL Room 103

Distinguished Seminar Series: "Optical technologies paving the road from Helmet Mounted Displays to Virtual and Augmented Reality consumer headsets, Smart Glasses and Smart Eyewear." by Bernard Kress, PhD.
Friday, October 10, 2014 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
CREOL Room 103

Bernard Kress, PhD.
Principal Optical Architect
Google Glass Project
Google [X] Labs.

Abstract:
Helmet Mounted Displays (HMDs) and Head Up Displays (HUDs) have been used extensively over the last decades in the defense sector. The complexity of the design and the fabrication of high quality see-through combiner optics to achieve high resolution over a large FOV have prevented their use in consumer electronic devices.
Occlusion Head Mounted Displays (HMD) have also been used in the defense sector for simulation and training purposes, over similar large FOV, packed with custom head tracking and eye gesture sensors.
Recently, a paradigm shift to consumer electronics has occured as part of the wider wearable computing effort. Technologies developed for the smart phone industry have been used to build smaller, lower power, cheaper, electronics. Similarly, novel integrated sensors and micro-displays have enabled the development of consumer electronic smart glasses and smart eyewear, professional AR (Augmented Reality) HMDs as well as VR (Virtual Reality) headsets.
Reducing the FOV while addressing the needs for an increased exit pupil alongside stringent industrial design constrains have been pushing the limits of the design techniques available to the optical engineer (refractive, catadioptric, micro-optic, segmented Fresnel, waveguide, diffractive, holographic, …).
However, the integration of the optical combiner within conventional meniscus prescription lenses is a challenge that has yet to be solved.
We will review how various optical design techniques have been applied to such tasks, as well as the various head-worn devices developed to date. Finally, we will review additional optical technologies applied as input mechanisms (eye and head gesture sensing, gaze tracking and hand gesture sensing).

Biography:
For over 20 years, Bernard has made significant scientific contributions as a researcher, professor, consultant, advisor, instructor, and author, in the field of micro-optics, diffractive optics and holography for research, industry and consumer electronics. He has been involved in half a dozen start-ups in the Silicon Valley on optical data storage, optical telecom, optical position sensors and display (picos, HUDs and HMDs). Bernard holds 28 international granted patents and 30 patents applications. He has published more than 100 proceeding papers and 18 refereed journal papers. He is a short course instructor for the SPIE on micro-optics, diffractive optics and wafer scale optics. He has published three books edited by John Wiley and Sons and Mac Graw Hill and a field guide by SPIE. He has been chairman of the SPIE conference “Photonics for Harsh Environments” for the past three years. He is currently with Google [X] working on the Google Glass project as principal Optical Architect.

For more information:
Dr. Bahaa Saleh 
Dean & Director, Professor of Optics 

407-823-6834

Seminar: "Recent advances in LIBS instrumentation: Application in quantification and elemental imaging" by Vincent Motto-Ros 9.26.14/ 11:00am-12:00pm/ CREOL Room 103

Seminar: "Recent advances in LIBS instrumentation: Application in quantification and elemental imaging" by Vincent Motto-Ros
Friday, September 26, 2014 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
CREOL Room 103

Abstract
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is recognized as a promising technique which enables elemental analysis of any type of material. It is extremely versatile with high potential in term of applications, offering standoff analysis capability, requiring only simple sample preparation, and providing fast and real-time analysis. However, improving the repeatability and the reproducibility of LIBS measurements is still the challenging issue faced by the technique to fit the requirements of precise and accurate quantitative analysis.
In the first part of this presentation, I will describe a new generation of LIBS instrument developed in our institute. The basic instrumental concept is to assist, either manually or automatically, the optical detection fiber by a real-time imaging of the plasma. This tends to improve greatly the stability of LIBS measurement in short as well in long terms [1], allowing unprecedented level of performances in elemental quantification (c.f. fig. 1a.). In the second part, some of our recent results will be presented in the frame of elemental imaging of biological tissue. We will show different examples of elemental images, sections of tumors and murine kidneys, with an investigation focused on the renal clearance of theranostic gadolinium-based nanoparticles (Fig. 1b.). The efficiency of LIBS imaging allows elements being mapped and quantified in tissues without any labeling and with an instrumentation fully compatible with standard optical microscope systems, offering a valuable tools in the fields of nanotechnology, biology, as well as medicine. [2].

Fig. 1. a) Example of calibration curve typically obtained with our LIBS setup. b) Elemental imaging principle and example of images obtained for a section of murine kidneys with 20 µm space resolution.



[1]   Motto-Ros, V et al. Precise alignment of the collection fiber assisted by real-time plasma imaging in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Spectrochim. Acta B 92, 60-69 (2014).
[2]   Sancey, L. et al. Laser spectrometry for multi-elemental imaging of biological tissues, Sc. Rep. 4, 6065 (2014).

Biography:
Associated Professor, Institut Lumière Matière, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Domaine Scientifique de La Doua, Bâtiment Kastler, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
Vincent Motto-Ros graduated with a M.S. in "Laser and Spectroscopy" in the University of Lyon (France) in 2002 and continued to complete his Ph.D. in the 'Laboratoire de Spectrométrie Ionique et Moléculaire' (Lasim, Lyon) working on "high-precision and high-sensitive spectroscopy of gaseous molecular species (O2, H2O, NO2) using high finesse cavities pumped by CW laser diode" under the direction of Pr. Patrick Rairoux. He starts his research on LIBS in 2007 with a post-Doc position in the Canadian Space Agency for which he demonstrated the potential of artificial neural network (ANN) in LIBS data processing for material identification and quantitative measurements of elements of planetological interest. He was recruited in 2008 by the Lyon 1 University as Associated Professor in the Jin Yu’s team (LASIM, called now Light and Matter Institute). He developed advanced experimental setups for fundamental research as well as applications related to laser-induced plasma. His panel covers the fundamentals of laser-induced plasmas, the application of laser spectroscopies such as LIBS, Fluorescence and Raman, as fundamental diagnostics as well as sensing techniques for industrial, environmental, geological and biomedical applications.

For additional information:  
Dr. Matthieu Baudelet
407-823-6910



Tuesday, September 2, 2014

PHYSICS COLLOQUIUM - Dr. Michael Rubinstein of University of North Carolina, Friday, September 5, 4:30 pm, PSB 161

Airway Surface Brush Sweeps Lungs Clean: Polymer Physics Helps Us Breathe Easier
The classical view of the airway surface liquid (ASL) is that it consists of two layers – mucus and periciliary layer (PCL). Mucus layer is propelled by cilia and rides on the top of PCL, which is assumed to be a low viscosity dilute liquid. This model of ASL does not explain what stabilizes the mucus layer and prevents it from penetrating the PCL. I propose a different model of ASL in which PCL consists of a dense brush of mucins attached to cilia. This brush stabilizes mucus layer and prevents it penetration into PCL, while providing lubrication and elastic coupling between beating cilia. Both physical and biological implications of the new model will be discussed.