Tuesday, May 26, 2015

SPIE Faculty Talk Series Seminar: “A Creole boy goes to CREOL: Many hands make light work” by Dr. M.J. Soileau 6.11.15/11:00am-12:00pm/ CREOL RM 102/103

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:
  1.  Office of Sponsored Programs, which, in turn, is responsible for providing contract and grant services for the university faculty and staff. 
  2. 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.)
  3. The UCF Technology Incubator and the university Technology Transfer Office.
  4. The UCF Research Foundation (the VP Research serves as president of this organization.)
  5. 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.
  6. 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

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