Yongfeng Lu Named LIA’s 2016 Schawlow Award Winner


Laser Institute of America (LIA) Fellow, 2014 LIA President and 2016 ICALEO® Nanomanufacturing Conference Chair Dr. Yongfeng Lu has been selected as the 2016 Arthur L. Schawlow Award recipient recognizing his longstanding record of laser industry innovation and his significant contributions to basic and applied research in the fields of laser science and electrical engineering.

With more than 20 years of experience in the processing and characterization of microstructured and nanostructured materials and over 300 journal papers and 350 conference papers published, the Lott Distinguished Professor of Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) will receive the honor at this year’s International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO), to be held from Oct. 16-20, 2016, at the Sheraton® San Diego in San Diego, CA.

Lu, whose nanoengineering research has led to a number of compelling commercialization and product developments, received his bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua University (China) in 1984 and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Osaka University (Japan) in 1988 and 1991, all in electrical engineering. His numerous professional accolades include election as SPIE Fellow, OSA Fellow and serving as Chair and General Chair for major international conferences in the field, including the Congress General Chair for ICALEO in 2007 and 2008, and general co-chair for LASE at Photonics West 2014 and 2015.

“I’ve worked throughout my professional career to test the boundaries, and help other engineers test the boundaries, in future-forward areas like nanoelectronics and laser-assisted nanomanufacturing,” Lu said. “I could not be more proud of my work, and my research team’s work. I am also absolutely honored to be the recipient of the distinguished Schawlow award, which I hope will continue to help me initiate breakthroughs in areas such as nanophotonics, Nano-Raman spectroscopy and 3D nanomanufacturing.”

Professor Lu established the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Laser Assisted Nano Engineering group in 2002, and has led several research projects for the university, funded by NSF, AFOSR, ONR, DTRA, DOE, DOT, NCESR, NRI, private companies and other foundations in Japan.

“Another one of my constant missions is to contribute to the international collaborations between LIA and sister societies in other countries,” Lu added.

LIA presented the first award in 1982 to Arthur L. Schawlow, who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1981. Schawlow was co-recipient of the 1960 patent for the maser with Charles Townes, inventor of the laser. Past recipients have included Keming Du (2015), founder of EdgeWave, Reinhart Poprawe (2014), managing director of Fraunhofer ILT and LIA president for 2012, and Ursula Keller (2013), inventor of the semiconductor saturable absorber mirror, or SESAM, and the first female Schawlow award winner.

Lu will receive his Schawlow Award on Oct. 20 during the 2016 ICALEO awards luncheon. You can join the celebration and attend other ICALEO sessions by registering for ICALEO 2016 at www.icaleo.org.

About LIA

The Laser Institute of America (LIA) is the professional society for laser applications and safety serving the industrial, educational, medical, research and government communities throughout the world since 1968. www.lia.org, 13501 Ingenuity Drive, Ste 128, Orlando, FL 32826, +1.407.380.1553.

EdgeWave Founder Keming Du Wins 2015 Schawlow Award

By: Geoff Giordano

ORLANDO, FL, Aug. 12, 2015 — With more than 70 patents or patent applications and more than 100 published works in a career spanning three decades, EdgeWave founder Dr. Keming Du is being honored as the Laser Institute of America’s 2015 Arthur L. Schawlow Award winner.

The Schawlow Award recognizes the recipient’s longstanding record of laser industry innovation and contributions to basic and applied research in laser science and engineering leading to fundamental understanding of laser materials interaction and/or transfer of laser technology for increased application in industry, medicine and daily life.

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ICALEO 2013 Offers Achievable New Horizons for Laser Industry

By Geoff Giordano

Much like the laser-assisted femto photography that has allowed MIT researchers to see around corners, the 32nd International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (ICALEO®) illuminated photonic research in everything from routine processing to more arcane applications like laser-assisted generation of human cells.

And, as did plenary speaker Boris Chichkov with his estimation that you could “print” a man’s cells — bone, fat, cartilage and skin — in two hours and 47 minutes, ICALEO 2013 offered extraordinary visions of new horizons being made achievable by the laser industry’s latest studies.

The finely regimented parade of cutting-edge research that is ICALEO never fails to produce memorable moments for its hundreds of attendees. Those who experienced this year’s conference on Oct. 6-10 — including a significant number of first-time attendees and presenters — were treated to another incomparable array of vital knowledge. Continue reading

ICALEO 2013 Boasts Innovative Laser-Driven Manufacturing Research & Technology

By Geoff Giordano

ORLANDO, FL, November 6, 2013 – Ultrafast lasers are allowing humans to “see” objects around corners and facilitate the “printing” of human cells, attendees of the Laser Institute of America’s (LIA) 32nd International Congress on Applications of Lasers and Electro-Optics (ICALEO®) learned Oct. 6-10 in Miami.

About 100 first-time participants joined more than 400 of their peers at ICALEO 2013 to hear roughly 200 presentations detailing the latest research in laser-driven manufacturing, including the white-hot area of additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing (AM) was the focus of the closing slate of five addresses looking at fabrication in the micro and nano scales as well as the increasing use of AM to make parts for the automotive, aerospace and medical industries.

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