Plenary Speakers

Chris Dainty

2011 OSA President, NUI Galway
Professor Dainty's research interests are in optical imaging, scattering and propagation. In these areas he has published several books and approximately 160 peer-reviewed journal papers. From 1974-78, he was a Lecturer in Physics at Queen Elizabeth College of the University of London. Professor Dainty joined the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester 1978. He became Pilkington Professor of Applied Optics at Imperial College in January 1984. In October 2002, Professor Dainty joined The National University of Ireland, Galway and in 2005 was appointed to the Chair of Applied Physics. He is simultaneously on extended leave from Imperial College.
Professor Dainty has been active in teaching optics and physics throughout his career, at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and in continuing education. He has supervised 54 PhD Theses and currently has 9 research students. Between 1993 and 2003 he was an Editor of Optics Communications, handling over 4900 manuscripts in that period.
He is the 1984 recipient of the International Commission of Optics Prize, the 1993 Thomas Young Medal and Prize (IoP), the 2003 C E K Mees Medal and Prize (OSA) and the Optics and Photonics Division Prize 2004 (IoP). He is also a Fellow of The Optical Society of America, SPIE and The Institute of Physics (UK) and in 2008 was elected to Membership of the Royal Irish Academy.
From 1983 to 1985 he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Optical Society of America: 1987–1990 he was elected Secretary-General of the ICO, President for the term 1990–1993 and was Past-President for 1993 to 1996: and 1994 to 1996 he was elected to the Board of SPIE. Prof Dainty served on the Council of the UK Institute of Physics (1996 – 1999). He was a Director at Large of the OSA for the period 2005-2007 and is President of the OSA in 2011.

Alexander L. Gaeta

OSA Director at large, Cornell University
Alex Gaeta received his B.S degree in 1983 and his Ph.D. in 1991, both in Optics from the University of Rochester. In 1992 he joined the faculty at the School of Applied and Engineering Physics at Cornell University where he is currently a Professor and the Director for the Center for Nanoscale Systems. His research interests include integrated nonlinear optical devices, nanophotonics, ultrafast nonlinear optics, the development and application of photonic crystal fibers, and quantum effects in nonlinear optics. He has participated in the organization of numerous meetings including serving as Chair of the 2003 OSA Annual Meeting, the 2007 QELS Conference, and the 2009 Nonlinear Optics Topical Meeting. He is also serving as a Director-at-Large on the OSA Board of Directors and he is a Fellow of the OSA and the APS.

Ken Ledingham

Strathclyde University
Ken Ledingham is Professor of Physics University of Strathclyde and Sir William Penney Professor of Laser Nuclear Physics (AWE)as well as Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Glasgow.
spent most of his professional career at the University of Glasgow where he graduated with B.Sc., Ph.D. and D.Sc. His Ph.D. was carried out in Nuclear Physics but in 1984, he initiated the new field of Resonant Ionisation Spectroscopy specialising in ultra-sensitive detection of atoms and molecules, graduating D.Sc.in 1995. From 1956 he worked at the Physics Department as lecturer, senior lecturer, reader and later Professor. In 1998, the intensity of the lasers was increased dramatically to allow him to establish the first group working on laser-induced nuclear physics. He transferred with his group to the University of Strathclyde in 2001.
In 2003 he was visiting Professor at University of Osaka (ILE) in Japan and in 2004 and 2005 at the University of Jena in Germany.
In 2007 he was elected FZD (Forschungszentrum Dresden Rossendorf) Fellow; in 2009 he was visiting scientist (Forschungszentrum Dresden Rossendorf).
His research interests include:
•High Intensity Laser Nuclear and Particle Physics and Applications with particular reference to Laser Driven Proton Oncology for Cancer. At present he is establishing a nuclear programme on the ultra high intensity laser ELI in Bucharest.
• High Intensity Laser Ionisation and Fragmentation of Molecules and Applications with particular reference to Laser Detection of Explosives and other environmentally sensitive materials.
• Throughout the last twenty years have been involved in researching the death of Napoleon as well as lecturing and studying global warming and renewable energies.

Luis Roso

Director of Centro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU)
Luis Roso received his BSc in Physics and Mathematics at the Universidad de Barcelona, where he also obtained his PhD in 1981. In 1985 he received a Fullbright Fellowship and moved to Rochester, where the CPA technology was being developed at that moment. In 1992, he became Full Professor at the University the Salamanca, where he was named director of the Laser Service in 2003. In 2008 he became Director of the Centro de Láseres Pulsados (CLPU).
His research interests include:
- Ultraintense short pulsed lasers: high-field physics
- Design of the Spanish Petawatt Laser
- Science and Applications of Ultrashort Ultraintense Lasers
- Extreme Light Infrastructure
- Short Wavelength Laboratory Sources
- Laserlab Europe