Henri Poincaré Webinar Series: Optical Polarization and Related Phenomena

Abstract: Mark Dennis studied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of St Andrews, before his PhD with Sir Michael Berry at the University of Bristol. His main interests are geometry and topology applied to waves, especially light. He received a prestigious Royal Society University Research Fellowship (2004-2012), with appointments at Southampton and Bristol before moving to the University of Birmingham in 2018. There he established the EPSRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training in Topological Design, bringing together engineers, scientists, and mathematicians on future topology-based technologies. He has published over 140 research papers, working with various other theorists and experimentalists around the world.

Abstract: José J. Gil got his Ph.D. in Physics in 1983 from the University of Zaragoza (Spain), where he developed his academic career except for a number of leave periods leading R&D projects in certain communication and educational technology companies. During his first and late stages as a researcher, his activity has focused on polarization phenomena and their mathematical characterization. Together with Prof. R. Ossikovski, he is the author of the book “Polarized light and the Mueller matrix approach”. He was the recipient of the 2013 SPIE G. G. Stokes Award.

Poincaré webinars are being scheduled and will be added soon.

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Thomas A. Germer, a physicist in the Surface and Interface Metrology Group, Sensor Science Division, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), leads this interdisciplinary series that brings together speakers from across the globe to explore topics derived from Henri Poincaré's work on optical polarization. The interactive investigations demonstrate contemporary applications of polarization techniques in various research areas and how they relate to each other, and are extended, for example, to non-paraxial optics.

"The reason I chose polarization science for this SPIE-hosted webinar series, is that this topic extends across nearly all of photonics," notes Germer. "Optical radiation is a vector field! And while there are conferences scattered around the world specifically related to certain aspects of polarization, they are often tied to specific applications whether those might be materials science, remote sensing, biomedical optics, or astronomy. One of the hopes for this series is that it will allow for energetic and lively discussions. In the end, I really hope to bring the global polarization-focused community together." 

Webinar facilitators are Germer, Jessica C. Ramella-Roman of Florida International University, and the École Polytechnique's Tatiana Novikova. The program is supported by an international committee of volunteer leaders: Oriol Arteaga, University of Barcelona (Spain); Sophie Brasselet, Institut Fresnel (France); Nirmalya Ghosh, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata (India); Ma Hui, Tsinghua University Shenzhen International Graduate School (China); Igor V. Meglinski, Aston University (United Kingdom); Valery V. Tuchin, Saratov State University (Russian Federation); and Scott Tyo, University of New South Wales (Australia).