Event
Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Lecture & Colloquium: Dr. Patrick O'Shea, "Enlightening the Darkness"
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
4:00 p.m.
John S. Toll Physics Building, #1412
Jess Molina
jmolina2@umd.edu
http://www.ece.umd.edu/colloquium
Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Lecture and Booz Allen Hamilton Distinguished Colloquium in Electrical and Computer Engineering
"Enlightening the Darkness"
Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
4:00 pm
John S. Toll Physics Building, #1412
ABSTRACT:
From the earliest times we have endeavored to create light where there is darkness. During the past half-century, lasers and synchrotron light sources have enlightened the darkness. Through helping us to see, communicate, and process materials, they have advanced science and technology in countless ways. In recent years, free-electron lasers (FELs) have become an attractive option for brightening some of the darker regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as the hard x-ray and THz regions. FELs combine the wavelength flexibility of synchrotrons with the brightness and coherence of lasers. Therefore, they can have a competitive advantage in spectral regions where other light sources are weak, with applications ranging from basic materials science to defense.
BIOGRAPHY:
Patrick G. OShea is Professor and Chair of the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Marylands A. James Clark School of Engineering. The Department is the largest in the School of Engineering, and has been ranked by US News & World Report as having the leading graduate programs in both electrical and computer engineering among public universities in the Mid-Atlantic and North East.
Prior to becoming Chair of ECE, he was Director of the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics (IREAP) at the University of Maryland. While Director of IREAP he played a major role in establishing the Maryland Nano Center. Previously he was a Project Leader at the University of California Los Alamos National Laboratory. He was born in Cork, Ireland, and holds a BS degree from the National University of Ireland, and MS and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Maryland.
He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
Professor OSheas technical expertise lies in the field of applied electromagnetics, nonlinear dynamics and charged particle beam technology, and applications.
