Eric Van Stryland was president of the

Optical Society of America Optica (formerly known as The Optical Society (OSA) and before that as the Optical Society of America) is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals and organizes conference ...

in 2005. Eric Van Stryland received the

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

PhD degree in 1976, from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, Optical Sciences Center,

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, where he worked on optical coherent transients and photon counting statistics. He worked in the areas of femtosecond pulse production, multiphoton absorption in solids, and laser induced damage at the Center for Laser Studies at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. He joined the Physics Department at the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

in 1978 helping to form the Center for Applied Quantum Electronics. In 1987 he joined the newly formed CREOL ( Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers) at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

, where he was professor of physics and electrical and computer engineering. The

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

has funded him for the past 29 years, and he has been performing research for the

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for a similar period. His current research interests are in the characterization of the nonlinear optical properties of materials and their temporal response as well as the applications of these nonlinear materials properties for sensor protection, switching, beam control etc. He helped develop the Z-scan technique with Mansoor Sheik-Bahae with whom he also established the methodology for applying Kramers-Kronig relations to ultrafast nonlinearities. This also led to the understanding of cascaded second-order nonlinearities. He is a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

, a former member of their board of directors and co-chair of the Science and Engineering Council, a fellow of the

SPIE SPIE (formerly the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, later the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) is an international not-for-profit professional society for optics and photonics technology, founded in 1955. It ...

, senior member of the Laser Institute of America and a former board member, a fellow of IEEE LEOS and a member of the APS, and MRS. He also served as a topical editor for

Optics Letters ''Optics Letters'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by The Optical Society (formerly known as Optical Society of America). It was established in July 1977. The editor-in-chief is Miguel Alonso (University of Rochester). The ...

. He has graduated 25 Ph.D.s and published well in excess of 100 papers. In 2003 he was awarded the highest honor UCF bestows, the Pegasus Award. He was director of the School of Optics/CREOL from July 1999 to May 2004. With the elevation of the School to the first College of Optics and Photonics, he became the dean of the college and served in that capacity until 2009. In addition Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...

established the Florida Photonics Center of Excellence (FPCE) in 2003 and he is the director of that center along with CREOL, both centers within the college.

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Articles Published by early OSA Presidents
Journal of the Optical Society of America
Nonlinear Optics Group
at CREOL Presidents of Optica (society) American people of Dutch descent 21st-century American physicists University of Arizona alumni University of Central Florida faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Optical physicists Fellows of the American Physical Society {{US-physicist-stub

See also

References

External links