Optica mourns the passing of these distinguished colleagues.
Saturday, January 10, 2026
Orazio Svelto, an Optica Fellow and recipient of the Charles Hard Townes Award (2005), passed away on 10 January 2026, at age 89. Svelto was renowned for his pioneering work on ultrashort laser pulses and solid-state lasers, as well as for inventing the hollow-fiber compressor, which contributed to advances in extreme nonlinear optics and attosecond science. He was also recognized for his
Sunday, September 28, 2025
Howard R. Schlossberg, Optica Fellow and recipient of the Robert E. Hopkins Leadership Award in 1998, passed away on 28 September 2025. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1938, Schlossberg earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from MIT in 1960 and pursued graduate studies at Brandeis University under a National Defense Education Fellowship. He later returned to MIT, where he studied under
Sunday, September 21, 2025
Robert G. Greenler, 1987 Optica President and recipient of the Esther Hoffman Beller Award, passed away on 21 September 2025 at the age of 95.Born in Dunkirk, Ohio, Greenler earned his B.S. in physics from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1957. He joined the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1962, where his pioneering research on the optical
Monday, September 8, 2025
Kostadinka “Dida” Bizheva, an Optica Fellow and Senior Member, passed away on 8 September, 2025, at the age of 55. She was known for her research in biomedical optics and optical imaging technology. In 2025, Optica honored her as an Optica Fellow for her outstanding contributions to optical imaging in ophthalmology. Bizheva served as a Professor in the Department of Physics and
Monday, June 16, 2025
Daniel Kleppner, Optica Fellow and recipient of the Frederic Ives Medal/ Jarus W. Quinn Prize (2007), passed away on 16 June 2025 at the age of 92. Kleppner was known for his experimental atomic physics research and pioneering work on Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC). Optica recognized him for his outstanding contributions to spectroscopy, including the development of the hydrogen maser
Sunday, May 18, 2025
James F. Young, Optica Fellow and Optica Emeritus Member, passed away on 18 May 2025. Young’s research focused on the development of new optical and photonic devices, but he will be remembered for his dedication to undergraduate teaching and his lasting impact on his students and colleagues at Rice University, where he was professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering.Young
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Joseph Eberly, 2007 Optica President and Honorary Member, passed away on 30 April 2025. Eberly was known for his research in the areas of quantum optics and radiation physics. His work led to numerous innovations, including the initial description of the spontaneous collapse and revival effect, the first observation of Bessel beams, predictions of the recently observed non-spreading
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Jay Enoch, Optica Fellow and Past President of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), passed away in March 2025. Enoch was known for his contributions to optometry with an emphasis on teaching and research. He was made an Optica Fellow in 1963 and a Senior Member in 2011. Enoch was the Dean of Berkeley Optometry at the University of California from 1980 to 1992, during
Sunday, January 26, 2025
Anthony J. DeMaria, 1981 Optica President and Fellow, passed away on 26 January 2025 at the age of 93. DeMaria was known for his outstanding contributions to the field of optics and quantum electronics, particularly the first demonstration of optical picosecond pulses using mode-locked lasers and pioneering contributions to the application of lasers in industry and scientific research. His
Friday, November 1, 2024
William B. Bridges, 1988 Optica President and Fellow, passed away on 1 November 2024 at the age of 89. He was the Carl F. Braun Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, at Caltech, USA. Bridges was known for his discovery of the noble gas ion laser in 1964 and his pioneering projects in the fields of reconnaissance systems, space communications systems, and hydrogen maser clocks for global
