
The University of New Mexico
NEWS RELEASE
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821, scarr@unm.edu
April 7, 2006
Physicist Jean Claude-Diels to Deliver UNM's Annual Research Lecture
Jean Claude-Diels, professor of Physics and Astronomy and Electrical and Computer Engineering, will deliver the University's 51 st Annual Research Lecture on Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. in Ballroom A of the Student Union Building. The title of the lecture is, “Laser Light: Sensing nano changes with the lightest touch, and creating power threads in light tunnels — a Prometheus' destiny.”
Diels, who joined UNM as a professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering in 1986, was selected for his recognition as a prominent figure in the ultrafast optics community and his contributions to the fields of physics and engineering.
The honor is the highest UNM bestows on its faculty members. The selection is done by the Research Policy Committee to honor research and teaching accomplishments. Nomination letters come from researchers throughout the world who detail the research contributions of faculty members.
Diels is widely recognized for his work in the development of femtosecond sources, stabilized femtosecond lasers atomic clocks and spectroscopy, solid state laser gyros for navigation, fiber lasers, and diagnostic methods for amplitude and phase measurement of femtosecond pulses. His work also involves collaborations with various international groups ACMS, a mathematics center at the University of Arizona, the Czech Technical University, the CICESE Center in Ensenada, Mexico and the Institute for Optics and Quantum Electronics at the University of Jena (Germany).
Additionally, Diels, a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, has investigated the use of lasers for triggering and guiding lightning, and creating light filaments. He has accrued 15 patents and co-authored a course textbook, Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena: Fundamentals, Techniques, and Applications on a Femtosecond Time Scale, which is widely considered as a benchmark text in the field.
In the classroom, Diels has been an outstanding mentor to more than 50 graduate students. He is an internationally recognized scientist, and is a research pioneer, with connections and collaborations established with a number of international organizations.
The University of New Mexico is the state's largest university, serving more than 32,000 students. UNM is home to the state's only schools of law, medicine, pharmacy and architecture and operates New Mexico's only academic health center. UNM is noted for comprehensive undergraduate programs and research that benefits the state and the nation.
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