PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION

Present membership about 14,000.

"Founded in 1916, OSA brings together optics and photonics scientists, engineers, educators, technicians and business leaders. OSA is dedicated to providing its members and the scientific community with educational resources that support technical and professional development. OSA publications, events and services help to advance the science of light by addressing the ongoing need for shared knowledge and innovation. The Society's commitment to excellence and long-term learning is the driving force behind all its initiatives."

Official Website:
http://www.osa.org/

Location:
Washington, DC

Founding Date:
1916

Name	Occupation	Birth	Death	Known for
Ilesanmi Adesida	Educator	c. 1949		Dean, College of Engineering, UIUC
Zhores I. Alferov	Scientist	15-Mar-1930		Developed solar cells for the Sputnik program
Nikolay G. Basov	Physicist	14-Dec-1922	1-Jul-2001	Invention of the maser and laser
Nicolaas Bloembergen	Physicist	11-Mar-1920		Nonlinear optics
Wallace R. Brode	Chemist	12-Jun-1900	10-Aug-1974	Absorption spectra of dyes
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji	Physicist	1-Apr-1933		Trapped atoms with laser light
Karl T. Compton	Physicist	15-Sep-1887	22-Jun-1954	Bikini Island atomic tests
Eric A. Cornell	Physicist	19-Dec-1961		Atomic physicist, Nobel laureate
Robert F. Curl, Jr.	Chemist	23-Aug-1933		Co-Discovered fullerines
Roy J. Glauber	Physicist	1-Sep-1925		Quantum optics
John L. Hall	Physicist	21-Aug-1934		Quantum optics
Theodor W. Hänsch	Physicist	30-Oct-1941		Quantum optics
George Russell Harrison	Physicist	14-Jul-1898	27-Jul-1979	Echelle spectrograph
Haldan K. Hartline	Scientist	22-Dec-1903	17-Mar-1983	Physiology of the retina
Gerhard Herzberg	Physicist	25-Dec-1904	3-Mar-1999	Molecular spectroscopy
Nick Holonyak	Physicist	3-Nov-1928		Light-emitting diodes
Herbert E. Ives	Physicist	21-Jul-1882	13-Nov-1953	Facsimile machine
Kristina M. Johnson	Educator	c. 1958		Provost of Johns Hopkins University
Alfred Kastler	Physicist	3-May-1902	7-Jan-1984	Optical pumping
Wolfgang Ketterle	Physicist	21-Oct-1957		Bose-Einstein condensates
David M. Lee	Physicist	20-Jan-1931		Superfluidity of helium-3
Theodore Maiman	Physicist	11-Jul-1927	5-May-2007	Built the first working laser
John C. Mather	Physicist	7-Aug-1946		Big Bang
Albert A. Michelson	Physicist	19-Dec-1852	9-May-1931	Measured the speed of light
Charlotte E. Moore	Astronomer	24-Sep-1898	3-Mar-1990	Technetium in the Sun
William D. Phillips	Physicist	5-Nov-1948		Trapped atoms with laser light
Aleksandr M. Prokhorov	Physicist	11-Jul-1916	8-Jan-2002	Invention of the maser and laser
James Rainwater	Physicist	9-Dec-1917	31-May-1986	Determined shapes of nuclei
Arthur L. Schawlow	Physicist	5-May-1921	28-Apr-1999	Laser spectroscopy
Charles H. Townes	Physicist	28-Jul-1915	27-Jan-2015	Invention of the maser and laser
George Wald	Biologist	18-Nov-1906	12-Apr-1997	Physiology of the retina
Carl E. Wieman	Physicist	26-Mar-1951		Bose-Einstein Condensates
Frits Zernike	Physicist	16-Jul-1888	10-Mar-1966	Phase-contrast microscope

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