Almantas Galvanauskas elected OSA Fellow

Prof. Galvanauskas was recognized for his pioneering work with fiber lasers.

Almantas Galvanauskas Enlarge
Almantas Galvanauskas

Prof. Almantas Galvanauskas has been elected Fellow of OSA, the Optical Society, “for contributions to the science and technology of high power fiber lasers, novel fiber structures, nonlinear interactions in fibers and fiber lasers, and fiber laser beam combining.”

Galvanauskas conducts research in the areas of fiber optics, ultrafast science and technology, and nonlinear optics. As a member of the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, he has been a leader in the development of key technologies for a new generation of ultrashort-pulse fiber lasers. This includes the invention and development of a new type of fiber structure called Chirally Coupled Core (CCC) fibers.

The CCC fiber is a revolutionary advancement in optical fibers. Helical symmetry is used to control fiber modal properties in such a way that single-mode performance is obtained in a very large core. CCC fibers enable high power scaling, while retaining all practical advantages of conventional single-mode fibers for system integration.

Development of CCC fiber technology led to Galvanauskas’ spinoff company Arbor Photonics in 2007. Using the new high-power fiber lasers, the company pursued applications that included improved manufacturing of microelectronics as well as processing of solar cells and other industrial materials. The company was acquired by nLight in 2013.

Galvanauskas is currently part of a multi-institution collaboration to develop key laser technology that will enable the design of high-power, ultra-short-pulse laser systems which are expected to enable new low-cost, compact accelerator-based light sources for a wide variety of biological, chemical, materials science, and security applications. This new laser technology is based on several innovations that were introduced by Galvanauskas’ group. This is the first project funded under a new Department of Energy program to develop next generation accelerators for high energy physics. [read more about the project]

“There is a lot of room for imagination” in the field of lasers, Galvanauskas told OSA in a brief video interview.

Galvanauskas is author of more than 200 publications. He received the Commercial Technology Achievement Award in 2001 from Laser Focus World for development of the first commercial fiber chirped pulse amplifier. More recent inventions include the invention and demonstration of Coherent Pulse Stacking, and the invention of novel spectral-coherent and energy-enhancing N2 laser-array beam combining methods.

Galvanauskas earned his PhD in physics from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

About OSA Fellows

OSA‘s mission is to promote the generation, application and archiving of knowledge in optics and photonics and to disseminate this knowledge worldwide. Fellows are members who have served with distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics. Only 10% of OSA membership may be fellows, and the number elected each year is typically limited to 0.5% of membership.

OSA was founded in 1916, and is the leading professional organization for leaders in the field of the science of light, including students, engineers, scientists, and those in business.

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Almantas Galvanauskas; Honors and Awards; Lasers and Optics; Optics and Photonics