NIST Physicist receives 2011 William F. Meggers Award.
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Press Release Summary:
NIST announced that physicist Steven Cundiff has received 2011 William F. Meggers Award, which recognizes outstanding work in spectroscopy, from Optical Society of America. Fellow of JILA, joint institute of NIST and University of Colorado Boulder, Cundiff is cited for contributions to ultrafast spectroscopy of semiconductors, including multidimensional Fourier transform techniques. He is also recognized for contributions to development of femtosecond-frequency comb technology.
Original Press Release:
NIST/JILA Physicist Wins Optical Society's Meggers Award
Steven Cundiff, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has received the 2011 William F. Meggers Award from the Optical Society of America (OSA).
The Meggers Award recognizes outstanding work in spectroscopy, the study and measurement of interactions between light and matter. Cundiff, a Fellow of JILA, a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder, is cited for "contributions to the field of ultrafast spectroscopy of semiconductors, including multidimensional Fourier transform techniques, and for contributions to the development of femtosecond frequency comb technology."
Highlights of Cundiff's recent research can be found in Tech Beat articles "Electronic 'Crowd Behavior' Revealed in Semiconductors" (July 6, 2007, at www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/tb2007_0706.htm#semiconductor), "NIST/JILA 'Dark Pulse Laser' Produces Bursts of ... Almost Nothing" (June 9, 2010, at nist.gov/public_affairs/tech-beat/tb20100609.cfm#dark), and "New Wave: JILA Develops Efficient Source of Terahertz Radiation" (Jan. 19, 2011, at www.nist.gov/public_affairs/tech-beat/tb20110119.cfm#radiation). Background on optical frequency combs is available at http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/frequency_combs.cfm.
Meggers was a prominent scientist who worked at NIST (then called the National Bureau of Standards) from 1914 to 1958 and is considered by many to be the founder of the American field of spectroscopy. More information on OSA's annual awards and medals is available at www.osa.org/About_Osa/Newsroom/News_Releases/Releases/04.2011/OSABestowsAwards.aspx. Previous Meggers Award winners, who include a number of NIST scientists, are listed at http://www.osa.org/awards_and_grants/awards/award_description/meggersaward/default.aspx.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department.
Contact:
Laura Ost
303-497-4880
