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JANUARY 2013 ADOLPH LOMB’S LEGACY 34 SNOW SPARKLE 42 LASERS DETERMINE RED PLANET‘S CHEMISTRY Zapping Mars CS524-ORA_Curves_SNPS_OpticsPh-ol3.pdf 1 5/12/11 9:59 AM OPN_Jan2013_Layout 1 12/6/12 9:41 AM Page 1 A Furukawa Company Your Optical Fiber Solutions Partner™ One of the broadest product portfolios and widest market coverage in the optical fiber industry. Medical, Government, Aerospace & Defense, Industrial and Telecommunications Optical Fiber, Specialty Coatings, Cable, Full-Service Assembly House, { Fiber Bragg Gratings, Modules, Fiber Laser Building Blocks } SPEAK WITH THE EXPERTS! 2 - 7 February 2013 Visit us at BiOS, booth #8917 and Photonics West, booth #917 to learn more about the latest OFS optical fiber and cable solutions! OFS | 860 678 0371 | [email protected] | www.SpecialtyPhotonics.com /ofsoptics /ofs_optics /company/ofs /OFSoptics FEATURES JANUARY 2013 VOLUME 24 NUMBER 1 42 The Curiosity is using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to detect nearly all chemical elements on Mars. 26 Zapping Mars: Using Lasers to Determine Adolph Lomb: Patronage, Industry and 26 the Chemistry of the Red Planet 34 Optics in Early 20th-Century America When NASA’s rover Curiosity landed successfully on Mars Adolph Lomb did not make any major discoveries or publish last August, it opened a new chapter in space exploration: original works; yet his influence on early 20th century optics the use of laser-based instruments to probe the surface of was monumental. Reminiscent of the wealthy princes and other planets. The nearly one-ton rover was designed to be a patrons of the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, he laboratory on wheels that is capable of doing sophisticated advanced optics by generously supporting the field—and the analyses on rough terrain. Noureddine Melikechi, Roger Wiens, Society devoted to it. Victoria N. Meyer Horton Newsom and Sylvestre Maurice All about Sparkles 42 Sparkles are a magnificent manifestation of optics in nature, and nowhere are they as abundant as on freshly fallen snow. Because they evade our depth-perception mechanism, sparkles have an otherworldly quality that makes them seem to float indeterminately rather than appearing on any surface or at any altitude. Alfred Cann DEPARTMENTS 21 18 9 16 4 President’s Message Scatterings 21 Conversations in Optics: OPN talks with Nick McKeown. Brielle Day 9 Headliners: Bow-tie laser defies 6 Contributors diffraction limit and more. Patricia 22 Career Focus: Learning to teach. Daukantas and Yvonne Carts-Powell Arti Agrawal 7 Optical Feedback 13 Policy News: Scientists win and lose 24 Member Lens: Cool optics images 54 Product Profi les in 2012 U.S. elections. Sarah Michaud from our readers. 14 Industry Updates: Applied Nanotech 56 After Image and Universal Display nab SBIR grants Backscatter and more. Valerie Coffey 46 Member News: CIOMP partnership, 14 Book Reviews: Optical Technology IONS South America and more. and more. Christian Brosseau and 48 History: Happy Birthday others Satyendra Nath Bose. Pulses 48 In Memory: Richard G. Brewer. 49 Events Calendar: Upcoming 16 Optics Innovations: Thorlabs OSA meetings. swims in the fast lane. Alex Cable and COVER: Artist’s concept of the Laurie Morgus ChemCam instrument aboard the Curiosity rover in operation. 18 Global Optics: Optics at Peking NASA/JPL-Caltech University. Kebin Shi President’s Message SA’s global activities continue to expand to keep Oup with our increasingly diverse membership. Today more than half of our members reside outside the United States. The fastest growing community is that of the student chapters: 75 percent are now in non-U.S. countries. Although new technologies have made communications easier than ever, I still believe that meeting face to face is the best way to learn about global issues and perspectives. As an OSA officer, I have already met with OSA members and the officers of our peer societies in Korea, Mexico, China, Brazil and Australia. As OSA President, I look forward to more opportunities to meet members all over the world. A significant component of OSA’s global growth is in Latin America. In just over 12 months, I have visited Mexico once and Brazil twice. At the 22nd General Congress of the International Commission for Optics (ICO-22) in Puebla, Although new Mexico, I met a number of students from the region at technologies have made an OSA student member lunch. Although ICO-22 was an international meeting, it was still an excellent chance to “communications easier learn more about optics and photonics in Latin America. Then, in July of 2012, I made my first visit to Brazil when than ever, I still believe I spoke at the Advanced School of Optics and Photonics in that meeting face to face São Carlos, Brazil, organized by the OSA student chapter at the University of São Paulo (IFSC). Both the quality of the is the best way to learn program and the organization were excellent, so it was no surprise to me that the IFSC Chapter won the 2012 Student about global issues and Chapter Excellence Award. I made a second trip to Brazil perspectives. in November, and I had the opportunity to attend IONS SA-2 at Unicamp in Campinas. The Unicamp chapter is proud to be the first Latin American student chapter. It was fascinating to hear reports from a number of Latin American student chapters about the range of their activities—from designing crossword puzzles to conducting outreach in local schools.” While in Brazil, I also attended the Latin American Optics & Photonics (LAOP) conference in São Sebastião. Sponsored by OSA and Sociedade Brasileira De Física (SBF), LAOP is a biennial conference that started in 2010. It featured about 200 presentations from researchers in 26 countries—mostly in Latin America. One of the speakers was Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, scientific director of the São Paulo Research Foundation, who discussed the growth of science and technology in Brazil. From the conference talks and visits to labs in both São Carlos and Campinas, I saw firsthand the results of this development—and it is certainly not confined to Brazil. It’s an exciting time for the community, and OSA is eager to play a supporting role. The next LAOP conference is scheduled for Mexico in fall 2014. I’m already planning to attend. —Donna Strickland OSA President 4 OPTICS & PHOTONICS NEWS JANUARY 2013 OPTICS & NEWS PHOTONICS Optics & Photonics News (ISSN 1047-6938), Vol. 24, No. 1 ©2013, Optical Society of Editor & Content Director Christina E. Folz America, is published monthly Creative Director Alessia Hawes Kirkland except bimonthly July-August by the Optical Society of America, Associate Editor Sarah Michaud 2010 Massachusetts Ave., Publications Assistant Hannah Bembia N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; 202.223.8130; Fax 202.223.1096; Email [email protected]; Web www.osa-opn.org. Optics & Chief Publishing Officer Elizabeth Nolan Advertising Sales Regan Pickett Photonics News was published Senior Production Manager Stu Griffith +1.202.416.1474 [email protected] as Optics News from 1975- 1989. (CODEN OPPHEL; GST Production Manager Carlos X. Izurieta #133618991; IPM #0895431). OSA is a not-for-profit society founded in 1916. 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