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In Memoriam: Dror Sarid, 1938-2017
Feb 25, 2017
Dror Sarid, OSA Fellow and Emeritus member, passed away on 25 February 2017 at the age of 78. Prof. Sarid received OSA Fellow status in 2001 for his internationally renowned work in light scattering, surface acoustic waves, optical waveguides, optical interactions, atomic force microscopy, and the education of students. Sarid had been a member of OSA for more than 35 years, and served on several OSA committees including the Nick Holonyak Jr. Award Committee in 2009-2010.
Sarid received his Ph.D. degree in solid-state physics from Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1972. He and his family moved to the United States in 1972 to pursue an opportunity with the University of California, Santa Barbara. Following his postdoctoral research, he joined the research staff at Xerox in Rochester, NY, and subsequently moved onto the University of Arizona, College of Optical Sciences (UA COS) in 1980. Sarid became a full professor in the physics department of UA COS, and continued his work on laser technology and specifically, degenerate four-wave mixing, a technique that permits engineers to control the transmission of light waves in ultrathin metal layers with other light waves. Sarid also worked in the area of atomic-free microscopy and authored the textbook on the subject. Sarid was the author of and contributor to numerous books, articles and conference papers, and holds patents in the field.
In addition to his research, Sarid was a member of the UA Faculty Senate and directed the Information Storage Center at the College of Optical Sciences for several years. He was also a member of the Tucson Jewish Community Center and Congregation Anshei Israel. He supported the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival and the J’s book club.
OSA and the scientific community mourns the loss of Dror Sarid.
