Optical Science

Optics is one of the oldest branches of physics, with foundations going back to the times of Descartes, Huygens, and Newton. Modern optical science spans a variety of diverse topics including:

  • The classical optics of lens design and imaging
  • Fiber optics and optical communication
  • Optoelectronic materials and devices
  • The application of optical methods in medicine
  • The fundamental quantum mechanics of the interaction of light with matter, including applications to quantum computing

At the University of Rochester, research in optical science is carried out in both the Department of Physics and Astronomy and in the Institute of Optics, with several faculty members holding joint appointments in both departments. For a description of the activities of faculty holding appointments in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, please see our Quantum Optics page.

Through the Cross-Disciplinary Physics program, students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy are also free to pursue research with other faculty holding appointments in the Institute of Optics. These faculty include:

Professor AlonsoWave propagation; partially coherent wave fields
Professor BergerMedical Optics
Professor BrownOptoelectronics
Professor FienupImage Processing
Professor GeorgePhysical Optics and Imaging
Professor GuoHigh Intensity Laser-Matter Interactions
Professor JacobsLiquid Crystal Optics
Professor KnoxUltrafast Optics and Telecommunications
Professor MooreOptical Engineering
Professor SekaLaser Physics and Engineering
Professor TeegardenOptical Materials
Professor WicksSemiconductor Lasers and Molecular Beam Epitaxy
Professor WilliamsThe Human Visual System and Physiological Optics
Professor ZavislanOptical Engineering and Biomedical Optics

See also our Quantum Optics page.