Mark G. Kuzyk (born May 7, 1958 in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

) is an American physicist. He received his Ph.D. degree at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1985, then was a member of technical staff at

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

from 1985 to 1990. He has been a professor of physics and astronomy at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

since 1990, where he has served as associate chair of Physics, Chair of the Materials Science Program, and Chair of Graduate Studies in Physics. He is best known for his quantum calculations of the fundamental limits of the nonlinear-optical response and the observation of what is now called the Kuzyk quantum gap. Other significant work includes the first demonstration of single-mode polymer optical fiber and the demonstration of

Photomechanical Effect Photomechanical effect is the change in the shape of a material when it is exposed to light. This effect was first documented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1880. More recently, Kenji Uchino demonstrated that a photostrictive material could be used fo ...

s in dye-doped polymers. More recent work includes studies of novel molecules that when doped into polymers recover from photodegradation when left in the dark. Since these same molecules, when dissolved in liquid solution, degrade irreversibly, this work offers a unique glimpse into the meaning of irreversibility and how one might be able to control

The Arrow of Time The arrow of time, also called time's arrow, is the concept positing the "one-way direction" or "asymmetry" of time. It was developed in 1927 by the British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington, and is an unsolved general physics question. This d ...

. Kuzyk's honors include the Boeing Distinguished Professorship and presentation of the Washington State University 2005 Distinguished Faculty Address. In 2009, he was named regents professor, the distinguished professor designation at

.Regents Professor Citation
/ref> He was elected to fellowship in the Optical Society of America in 1999 and is author of the book, ''Polymer Fiber Optics''.

Background

Kuzyk is the son of Walter Roman Kuzyk (a mechanical engineer) and Irene Bernakiewicz (a pharmacist), who emigrated from Ukraine after World War II. He went to Stetser Elementary School in Chester, Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1968, Nether Providence Elementary School from 1968 to 1970, Nether Providence Middle School from 1970 to 1972, and Nether Providence High School from 1972 to 1976. While in high school, he excelled in Math and Science, taking college classes at Widener college. Kuzyk won the award for outstanding achievement in mathematics in 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuzyk, Mark G. 1958 births Living people 21st-century American physicists Fellows of the American Physical Society