Gabriel Popescu (October 24, 1971 — June 16, 2022) was a Romanian-American

optical engineer Optical engineering is the field of science and engineering encompassing the physical phenomena and technologies associated with the generation, transmission, manipulation, detection, and utilization of light. Optical engineers use optics to solve ...

, who was the William L. Everitt Distinguished Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. He was best known for his work on

biomedical optics Medical optical imaging is the use of light as an investigational imaging technique for medical applications. Examples include optical microscopy, spectroscopy, endoscopy, scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, laser Doppler imaging, and optical coherence t ...

and

quantitative phase-contrast microscopy __FORCETOC__ Quantitative phase contrast microscopy or quantitative phase imaging are the collective names for a group of microscopy methods that quantify the Phase (waves), phase shift that occurs when light waves pass through a more optically de ...

Biography

Popescu was born on October 24, 1971, in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. He obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

in 1995 and 1996, respectively. He further obtained obtained a master's degree and a PhD in optics, in 1999 and 2002, respectively, from School of Optics at

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 ...

. In 2002, he joined

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

as a postdoctoral researcher under the supervision of

Michael Stephen Feld Michael S. Feld (November 11, 1940 – April 10, 2010) was an American physicist, who was best known for his work on quantum optics, and medical applications of lasers. Biography Michael S. Feld received his Ph.D.MIT under the supervision of la ...

. In 2007, Popescu joined the

as an assistant professor and established the Quantitative Light Imaging (QLI) Laboratory. At this institution, he was affiliated with the Electrical and Computer Engineering and Bioengineering departments, as well as with the

Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology is a unit of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign dedicated to interdisciplinary research. A gift from scientist, businessman, and philanthropist Arnold O. Beckman (1900–2004) an ...

. In 2009, he obtained American citizenship. Popescu was an associate editor for ''

Optics Express ''Optics Express'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Optica. It was established in 1997. The journal reports on scientific and technology innovations in all aspects of optics and photonics. The Energy Express supplement ...

'' and '' Biomedical Optics Express'' and served as an editorial board member for ''

Journal of Biomedical Optics The ''Journal of Biomedical Optics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by SPIE. It covers the application of optical technology to health care, biomedical research, and experimental medicine. The editor-in-chief is Brian W. Po ...

'' and ''

Scientific Reports ''Scientific Reports'' is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific mega journal published by Nature Portfolio, covering all areas of the natural sciences. The journal was established in 2011. The journal states that their aim is to assess solely th ...

''. He was a Fellow of Optica,

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 ...

and

American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) is a non-profit organization founded in 1991, and headquartered in Washington. It represents 50,000 medical and biomedical engineers, and academic institutions, private industry, ...

. He is the author of the textbook ''Quantitative Phase Imaging of Cells and Tissues'' and editor of ''Nanobiophotonics'', which were released respectively in 2010 and 2011. He is also the founder of the

startup company A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend t ...

Phi Optics, which focuses on the commercialization of

. On June 16, 2022, Popescu died in his native village of Prundu, after suffering a fatal motorcycle accident. He was survived by his wife Catherine Best-Popescu, a research assistant professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and two children.

Research

Popescu's research has focused on

optical microscopy Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...

and

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

. He has been regarded as a pioneering figure in

, which facilitates non-destructive and label-free

imaging Imaging is the representation or reproduction of an object's form; especially a visual representation (i.e., the formation of an image). Imaging technology is the application of materials and methods to create, preserve, or duplicate images. ...

of biological samples. Respectively in 2006, 2010 and 2017, he introduced different extensions of this method: diffraction phase microscopy, spatial light interference microscopy and gradient light interference microscopy.

Selected publications

;Books * * ;Journal articles * * * * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Popescu, Gabriel 1971 births 2022 deaths Romanian emigrants to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty University of Bucharest alumni University of Central Florida alumni Optical engineers American biomedical engineers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Romanian non-fiction writers 21st-century Romanian writers Motorcycle road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Romania People from Giurgiu County 21st-century American engineers Romanian engineers 21st-century American inventors Romanian inventors 21st-century Romanian scientists Romanian medical researchers Romanian academics American engineering writers Engineers from Illinois People from Urbana, Illinois Fellows of SPIE Fellows of Optica (society) Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering