SPIE Faculty Talk Series Seminar: “A Creole boy goes to
CREOL: Many hands make light work” by Dr. M.J. Soileau
Thursday, June 11, 2015 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
CREOL Room 102/103
Celebrating the International Year of Light 2015
Dr. M.J. Soileau
V.P. for Research and Professor of Optics, ECE & Physics
Abstract:
In this talk I will share my life’s journey in
optics. I will speak about what led me to a career in optics, a
very improbable journey indeed! The first part of the title is a
bit of word play relating to my ancestry (9th generation in
this country, but first in my family to speak English as my primary language)
and the myth about how the name CREOL came about. The sub title is
meant to emphasize that the story I have to tell is about collaboration,
mentorship, and friendship. Anything that I have been able to
accomplish in optics is due to the helping hands of many people.
The other meaning intended by the subtitle is that the many hands of the people
at CREOL are putting light to work to develop Florida’s innovation economy.
Biography:
Position: University of Central Florida,
Orlando, FL
Vice President for Research & Commercialization and
Distinguished Prof. of Optics, ECE, and Physics, June 1999-Present
Interim Vice President for Research & Graduate Studies,
July 1998-June 1999
Director, School of Optics/CREOL, University of Central
Florida, January 1987 to June 1999
Education:
Ph.D. Electrical Engineering/Quantum
Electronics-University of Southern California 1979
M.S. Physics/Optics-University of Utah
1968
B.S. Astronomy and Physics-Louisiana State
University 1967
Present Duties: Heads the UCF Office of
Research & Commercialization which includes:
- Office of
Sponsored Programs, which, in turn, is responsible for providing contract
and grant services for the university faculty and staff.
- Oversight and management
of interdisciplinary centers, including, the Center for Research and
Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL), the Institute of Simulation and
Training (IST), the Nano Science and Technology Center (NSTC), the Florida
Solar Energy Center (FSEC), the Advanced Materials Processing and
Application Center (AMPAC), Center for Research in Computer Vision (CRCV)
and the Florida Space Institute (FSI.)
- The UCF Technology
Incubator and the university Technology Transfer Office.
- The UCF Research
Foundation (the VP Research serves as president of this organization.)
- Represents the research
agenda of the university in the senior administration and in partnerships
with federal, state, and local agencies and the private business sector.
- Member of the Florida
High Tech Corridor Council Core Team.
Current Board Memberships and Community Service:
bioOrlando Scientific Council
Board of Directors of BEAM, Inc. (UCF Spin-off Company)
Board of Directors of Aquafiber, Corp.
Board of Directors of the Florida Photonics Cluster (501.c.3
Corporation)
President UCF Research Foundation (501.c.3 Corporation)
Board of Trustees (past Chairman) of the Orlando Science
(501.c.3 corporation)
President, Laser Induced Damage, Inc. (501.c.3 Corporation)
Vice Chairman of the Board, Florida Research Consortium
(FRC)(501.c3 corporation)
Board (and Past Chair) of the Orange County Research and
Development Authority
Board and Executive Committee of the Astronaut Memorial
Foundation
Space Florida Education and Research Committee
Tech Council of Enterprise Florida
Selected Honors:
Gold Medal of the SPIE-The International Society for Optical
Engineering, 2008
Ester Hoffman Beller Medal of the OSA (Optical Society of
America), 2007
President of the SPIE-the International Society for Optical
Engineering, 1997
Director’s Award, SPIE-the International Society for Optical
Engineering, 1998
Fellow of the SPIE, the OSA, AAAS (American Assoc. for the
Advancement of Science), National Academy of Inventors, and the IEEE (Institute
for Electrical and Electronic Engineers)
Elected a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of
Engineering Sciences, 1995
Charter Member, National Academy of Inventors
Distinguished Service Appreciation Medal by the Institute of
Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, Spain
Publications and Presentations:
Over 170 technical and scientific papers in the general
areas of optics, laser induced damage to optical materials and nonlinear
optics.
Past Positions: Founding Director of CREOL and
the UCF School of Optics, Officer, USAF (1967-73), VP MITS, Inc. (1971-72),
Research Scientist, US Navy (1973-80), Prof. Of Physics, University of North
Texas, (1980-86).
For additional information:
Md Javed
Rouf Talukder
407-800-9881
