Emil Wolf honored with G.G. Stokes Award

Emil Wolf, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA, is the 2010 recipient of the G.G. Stokes Award in recognition of his contributions in formulating the modern theories of coherence and polarization of optical fields.

"Prof. Emil Wolf has made exceptional contributions to the field of polarization and coherence optics, and is at the moment one of the world's leaders in the use of new concepts in this area to characterize random media," said Christian Brosseau, Département de Physique and Lab-STICC, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, France. "Wolf has also written standard works on a large variety of topics ranging from medical imaging to astronomy, and a pioneering textbook on the coherence of light co-authored with the late

Leonard Mandel, which is today the undisputed bible on the subject. His prolific publications have influenced all aspects of the discipline and are actively discussed in the academic literature, e.g. correlation-induced shift, now identified with the adjective 'Wolf.'"

Wolf is a past recipient of the Joseph W. Goodman book Writing Award (SPIE and OSA). In 2003 SPIE honored Wolf at the SPIE Annual Meeting (now Optics + Photonics)-Proceedings of the meeting highlighting his contributions to physical optics were published in a book, Tribute to Emil Wolf - Science and Engineering Legacy of Physical Optics, T. P. Jannson, Ed., (SPIE Press, Bellingham, Washington, 2005).

The G. G. Stokes Award is given annually for exceptional contribution to the field of optical polarization. The award may be presented for a specific achievement, development, or invention of significant importance to optical science and society, or may be given for lifetime achievement. An honorarium of $2,000.00 will be presented, sponsored by ITT Industries, Hinds Instruments, Meadowlark Optics, L3 Communications, Polaris Sensor Technologies, and individual contributions from Russell Chipman.

For more information on this year's recipient and past winners, visit http://spie.org/x3065.xml.

SPIE presents several yearly awards that recognize outstanding individual and team technical accomplishments and meritorious service to the Society. SPIE urges you to nominate a colleague for his or her outstanding achievements. Nominations may be made through October 1 of any given year and are considered active for three years from the submission date. Visit SPIE.org/x1164.xml for instructions and nomination forms.

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